Making Memories Of Us
by Lattelady
Summary: The Witch was dead. They all should have lived happily ever after, but sadly, they were smack dab in the middle of the OZ's version of real life. A DG and Cain romance with some Glitch and Az thrown in for seasoning.
1. Aftermath

**Rating:** R

**Pairing:** Cain/DG

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, not _Tin Man_ or the song that the title is take from

**Making Memories Of Us**

**By ****_Lattelady _**

**Ch 1 – Aftermath**

_I'm gonna be here for you baby_

_I'm a man of my word_ – Making Memories Of Us  by Keith Urban

………………………………………………………..

Two Princesses stood side-by-side, in the dark of a double eclipse. Their hands were tightly clasped as magic grew and flowed between them. The light they created was great enough to kill the Wicked Witch and set the O.Z free of her evil….

_And then they all lived happily ever after_…..

….Or that was how it should have been, if it was a fairytale, DG thought. But sadly, they were smack dab in the middle of real life.

The younger Princess looked around the high-ceiled, stone room and shivered. The battle she and her sister had fought to defeat the Witch had depleted her magic and ever since, she was unable to stay warm. It was as if something deep inside her had turned to ice. She was also discovering that one of the after effects of almost dying of suffocation while locked in an emerald marble coffin was claustrophobia. Small spaces had never bothered her before but now it took all of her control to keep panic at bay in the cramped windowless Tower room.

Tears sparkled in DG's eyes as she pushed her physical problems aside. It felt selfish to worry about such paltry things, when her sister Azkadellia writhed in pain and guilt on a bed five feet away. Queen Lavender Eyes and two healers attempted to calm her, but were having little success. The door opened and the Prince Consort came in leading a hesitant Glitch by the arm.

"Ambrose!" Az hiccupped and fresh tears ran down her face when she saw him peering over her father's shoulder. "I'm so sorry…" She bit her lip trying to gain some control. "I'm so very sorry I hurt you."

"Hello, my name is Glitch." The frightened young man looked around the room uncertainly. "Do I know you?" He gazed at each person quizzically. "Hello, my name is…" his voice froze in his throat when his eyes met Azkadellia's. He tilted his head, as a very old memory slipped along the edges of what was left of his mind.

DG reached out to him but before she could make contact, his face cleared and his lips turned up in a warm sad smile. "Oh, Azzy," he whispered and moved to her bed. "It wasn't you, it was her." He gripped the ex-Sorceress's hand and kissed it. "It wasn't you…Did I say that already?" But something in the older Princess's dark eyes made him start over, despite his misfiring synapses. "It wasn't you, it was her."

Deeg didn't understand what had happened and she wasn't sure she wanted to. The man with half a brain was tenderly comforting Azkadellia as she cried in his arms. In a daze DG turned and made a hasty escape from the room. At least in the wide long hall it didn't feel as if the air was being sucked away and the walls closing in. Maybe things would make more sense once she was able to breathe freely again.

"Princess, I've been looked for you." Wyatt Cain found her leaning against the wall beside her sister's door. She had her eyes closed and her face was pinched and pale.

"Did you see a healer about your shoulder?" She blinked but kept her eyes glued to the coat slung over his left arm and his hands as they lightly toyed with his hat. She didn't need to see the bloody torn patch of shirt over his right deltoid to be reminded he'd been recently shot.

"It was only a scratch but Raw seemed to think you were overly worried about it, so he took care of it." He rotated his arm to show off the Viewer's work. "See, good as new."

"You're sure?" Her eyes were wide and very blue as she ran her fingers gently over the gaping hole in his shirtsleeve and touched scar-free skin, covering well defined muscle. For one moment she felt again what it had been like on the balcony of the Tower, with the Witch melted and dead at her feet. She should have felt joy, but instead pain had lanced through her as her three friends spilled through the door. Cain had been in the lead, his gun drawn and blood had seeped from a bullet wound, Raw was attempting to cure.

"Princess, are you all right?" He reached for her arm and felt her shiver when his hand cupped her shoulder. "You're freezing."

"Just a little cold." She shook her head refusing to admit the whole truth. "The Queen – my…ah…mother - says it's because my magic is depleted. It could be worse." She grinned impishly. "Az gets uncontrollable hiccups when hers is exhausted. She said they can go on for hours because sleep is the only thing that will cure them, but hiccupping keeps her awake. That must have driven the Wicked Witch nuts."

"I bet." Cain's mouth twitched into a half smile as he pictured the evil Sorceress plagued by such a common human irritation. But all thoughts of humor fled when he saw DG shiver again. "You need to take better care of yourself," he grumbled as he wrapped his duster around her shoulders.

"I can't take your coat." But even as she said it, he put his arm around her, keeping it securely in place. The warmth radiating off his body made her want to melt against him.

"Sure you can, besides it's only until I can get you to your room." With her held securely at his side, he plunked his hat on his head and they walked down the hall. "It's time _you_ got some rest."

"That's not going to happen. My mind is racing a mile a minute…" Her nerves were jumping and she was riding an adrenaline high that made her blood sing. "Besides, there are a million things to do."

"They can wait until tomorrow. You're shivering so hard from exhaustion; I can feel your bones rattle," he argued as they stopped in front of a large wooden door.

"That's the magic, not me!" she wanted to fume at him, but he felt so deliciously warm it drained the fight out of her.

"Princess, the magic is part of who you are." Cain brushed her bangs back so he could look her in the eyes.

"I'm not going to be able to sleep. There's really no…" The sound of weapon's fire in the distance caught her off guard. "You told me the fighting was over," she accused.

"The main battle is, but snipers have taken up positions beyond the range of our guns. It seems the Witch supplied them with some new type of artillery." He looked away quickly and deliberately changed the subject. "You'll be safe inside the Tower. The Resistance has swept it from top to bottom, twice." He didn't add that he'd done his own personal search. He fished in his pants pocked and pulled out a large old-fashioned iron key. "This is for your room, unless you want to go back and stay with your sister."

"No, I just seem to make Azkadellia cry harder." She shivered again, but this time it wasn't from the cold. It was the memory of her sister's despair and the room, which had seemed to grow smaller and smaller every second she'd been in there.

"Princess?" Cain scowled. She was hiding something from him and he didn't have time to dig it out of her. "You'll be perfectly safe. I did the security check on your room to be sure. Keep it locked and don't open it for anyone but Raw or me."

"But…" Something was wrong. She could read it in his cold grim expression. It only took a moment for her tired mind to put the pieces together, "You're going out after the snipers!"

"It has to be done. Jeb is picking men right now. He's leading one group and I'll take the other."

"You can't. You were wounded less than an hour ago!" She grabbed at the collar of his shirt, as if she could physically restrain him.

"Even if Raw hadn't healed it, I'd be going, Kiddo." One of his hands was making slow circles on her back in an attempt to keep her warm, but the other covered hers where it held onto his shirt. "They're shooting at a building where the Royal family is in residence. To allow that would be a show of weakness and the Queen can not afford to appear weak, especially now."

"Please, Tin Man, don't go," her voice cracked and it was almost his undoing, especially when she called him Tin Man. He'd discovered she only did it in moments of vulnerability or sass and it didn't take a Viewer to tell which she was feeling.

"Their first target was the field hospital. We had to evacuate the wounded to the lower level of the Tower." His thumb ran gently over the back of her fingers. He kept telling himself he did it to calm her. The fact that it calmed him, as well, had nothing to do with it. "They did a hell of a lot of damage."

"Oh…" She digested the information, hearing the words he wasn't saying. "Well, then we better get going." She tried to brush past him, heading for the steps. Her intent to go along was written clearly on her face.

"Oh, no ya don't." He looped his left arm around her waist and pulled her against his side. "DG, listen to me." When her large blue eyes were looking directly into his he continued. "I'm going hunting and men are going to die tonight." There was a time when he wouldn't have told her the gristly truth, but hours earlier she'd killed the greatest evil he'd ever known, so he knew she would understand.

Time stood still as DG looked up into his stormy blue eyes. She wasn't stupid. She knew almost nothing about firearms. With her power depleted, she would be a liability, one that could easily cost others their lives. "You will be careful? This is the one time I won't be there to help." It was what he'd asked of her hours earlier, before they went their separate ways, to fight their separate fights, to win back the O.Z. "I don't even have any magic left to send with you."

"You've already helped me, Princess." Cain almost smiled when he remembered her saying the same thing to him and wondered if she realized she'd already helped him in ways that had nothing to do with magic.

"I'm serious!" Her eyes snapped, no longer playing along. "Don't go out there and be one of the men who die."

"Nothing to worry about, Kiddo, I promised the Mystic Man I'd keep you safe and this Queendom is a long way from being secured." He didn't bother to offer to shake her hand; he simply swept her up in a fierce hug. When he put her feet back on the ground he turned quickly, unlocked the door and gave her a gentle shove into the room. "Lock the door!" he ordered as he took his coat from her shoulders and shrugged into it. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

Once she'd turned the key in the lock, DG slid to the ground, her legs unable to hold her. What had just happened? She couldn't focus and was colder than ever. When had the attraction she'd felt for Wyatt Cain grown into a full blown crush? She refused to call it anything other than that. He was a widower grieving for the loss of his beloved wife. If she gave the feelings she was developing for him any real substance, it made her feel soiled, as if she was trespassing on something intimate and sacred.

"Get it together," she lectured herself. "He's a good looking man and he's been there for you every step of the way, whether you needed him to be or not. What girl wouldn't find that attractive?" She nodded with determination and tried not to wonder where exactly Cain was in the mourning process. To take her mind off the inappropriate subject, she looked up to survey her accommodations.

Her stomach flipped over and her breath caught in her throat. She was in a room even smaller than the one where Az had been. "Well, DG, what were you expecting?" she muttered, as she clawed at the door and quickly opened it. "The man went out hunting snipers. He wasn't going to leave you in a room with windows so you could watch and get shot at!"

She grabbed a blanket off the stack on the bed and headed out the door, taking special care to lock it as she'd promised.

……………………………………………………………………….

"Let's go over this one more time." Wyatt Cain looked at the anxious faces of the men who'd gathered around him. "The snipers are dug in here and here." He pointed to the appropriate places on the map. "They've got the Tower caught in the middle. We need to do this quickly and quietly, before they can bring in reinforcements. Any last questions?" He straightened and took the measure of each man as he looked them directly in the eyes.

"What do we do 'bout prisoners, Sir?" The young man standing beside Jeb coughed to cover the crack in his voice.

"We're not taking any." Cain pulled his hat down so the brim shadowed his eyes. It was an order he hated to give. It went against all his tin man training. But he wasn't a lawman anymore. Tonight he was acting as a soldier of the Queen. "The mission is too dangerous and our numbers too few. Can you handle that?"

"Yes…yes, Sir! I been fightin' Longcoats since I could hold a rifle."

"All right, let's get this over with." He pulled his pistol from the holster and checked his ammo for the last time.

"Good hunting, father," Jeb added quietly as he shook the older man's hand.

"Good hunting, son," Cain stumbled on the words. He hated that he was taking his child into battle.

Moments later, when a wayward Princess entered the lower level hall, it was empty. Eleven resistance fighters and one ex-tin man had melted into the inky black night beyond the Tower. She'd arrived too late to see them on their way.

**TBC**


	2. Whispers Of A Legend

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

**Rating:** PG-13

**Making Memories Of Us**

_By Lattelady_

**Ch ****–**** 2 – Whispers Of A Legend**

_I wanna stand out in a crowd for you_

_A man among men_

_I wanna make your world better than it's ever been_ Making Memories Of Us by Keith Urban

* * *

DG stood alone in the empty hall. She had just enough magic left to be able to feel the strong residual presence of Wyatt Cain. She closed her eyes and could see him giving orders to his men before they snuck out into the night, but that was all. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't coax more power from her inner light. If she could feel him here, why couldn't she feel him out there, and know he was alive and unhurt? 

"Please keep him—them safe," she whispered to whatever deities had dominion over the Outer Zone, but the only response she received, was her own breathy words echoing back to her.

With a sigh she turned and went in search of the hospital that had been moved to the lower level of the Tower. She made it as far as the entrance, before she began to lose her nerve. They'd set up in the area that the Witch had used as detaining cells. It made a twisted kind of sense, because Resistance fighters as well as the poor souls who'd been kept locked in the labyrinth of dungeons beyond needed medical care.

She'd forgotten how tight the space was. Her last memories of the place were overpowered by the thrill of discovering that Zero hadn't killed Wyatt Cain and the feel of being swept up in the Tin Man's arms. Now she was alone, about to step into a crowd, and her spine tingled, as images of emerald green marble walls pressing in on her, blotted out happier, earlier, ones. She refused to give in to the trapped feeling that was making it hard to breathe. Biting her lip she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders and added as much bravado to her posture as she could summon.

To her left three long slim wooden tables had been scrubbed down and were being used by surgeons, or at least the O.Z.'s versions of them. She quickly looked away. '_Nope,_ _not her area of expertise_.'

In the back of the room she spotted Raw and two other Viewers as they tended to their people who had been forced to serve the Witch. Their imprisonment and torture had taken a heavy toll on the gentle empaths. She knew the last thing they needed, in their condition, was a worn-out human who had been riding an emotional rollercoaster for the last seven days.

All around her people were in physical and emotional pain, but they were strangely quiet. It was almost as if they didn't have the energy to cry out. An occasional moan broke the silence but it was the exception rather than the rule. It was more than her gentle heart could take. She moved quickly to the person closest to her and knelt by his side.

"Princess," the wounded young man whispered. She recognized him as one of Jeb's Resistance fighters from back at the camp, but she didn't know his name.

"Shhh, you shouldn't talk, the doct — the healer will be with you soon." She carefully checked the bandage on his chest and stomach, only to discover it was soaked with blood.

"It won't be soon enough, Princess." He covered her hand with both of his. "I need ya to tell my girl that I loved her. I need ya to tell Becca—"

"You'll be able to tell her yourself." DG tried to smile, but she knew deep down that she was lying. Even in the short time she'd been with him, his breathing had become raspy and labored. She wanted to cry out for help, but everyone was busy.

"No, I won't, so you gotta do it. Tell her the legend is true, that _she_ was right. She's my _One,_ my _Cariad. _When her time comes….and her waiting is over," he gasped for breath and fought to go on. "I'll meet her on the Road and we'll…together again…forever…" He lost his battle to speak, as blood speckled his lips and breathing became too much of an effort.

"No!" DG cried as his fingers went slack in hers and his eyes grew blank and glassy. She placed the heels of her hands on his chest as she'd been taught in CPR class, but at the slightest compression she felt hundreds of tiny pops, as if she was pushing down through a stack of bubble wrap. "Please, you can't die. I don't know your name," she begged,

"His name was Tommy Winsmore, Missy." An arthritic old woman knelt stiffly beside her and reached over to gently close his eyes. "He was next in line for the healer, but it don't look like he's gonna need it now."

"No, I don't think he is." She sat at the boy's side unable to leave him. "I wanted to help, but I couldn't do anything for him."

"Yes, ya did. You was here when he needed ya most and 'cause 'a that he didn't die alone. His ma will be mighty grateful."

"Do you know his girl, his 'Becca? He wanted me to give her a message." DG blinked quickly so tears wouldn't form.

"T'won't be necessary, honey," the old woman sighed. "Becca Turner fell in the original assault on the Tower. I 'spect they're together, now, walkin' the Old Road to Forever. Glinda will see to 'em now. She watches over all _Cariad_, whether on this Road or the next."

"I don't understand?"

"'Course ya don't, honey. You been gone a long time, but you'll learn soon 'nough. My name's Cora Nightingale but 'round the Resistance camps they call me Old Cora. Used ta be a healer, 'till my joints swelled up. All my hands 're good for now is a bit 'a bandagin' 'n herb mixin'." She smiled, dipped a cloth in a bucket of clean warm water and handed it to DG. "You need ta freshen up some.

"Thank you," her throat closed as she blinked back tears. With hands that shook, she carefully wiped sticky dark blood from her palms and between her fingers.

"You're welcome, Princess," Cora whispered and winked. "You're identity is safe with me. It's best if they don't know who you are, might keep that Tin Man 'a yours from raisin' a ruckus when he gets back."

DG frowned and was about to argue when distant rifle fire followed by a series of explosions made everyone duck.

"Sounds like they did it!" one of the healers called out. "They got those damn Longcoat snipers!"

"Help, can I have some help over here!" a young dark haired woman cried out. She was bandaging a patient the healer had recently finished suturing.

DG made to rise, but stopped when she remembered the man who had just died.

"You go on ahead and give young Jenna a hand, honey. She's an apprentice, but mighty good at the healin' arts. Old Cora 'ill see ta the dead, while you help with the livin'." The old woman nodded and sent the young Princess on her way.

"Thank goodness," Jenna sighed as DG ran to the side of the table where the other woman was struggling to keep a large man from falling off. "Throw yourself across his thighs. It'll keep him from kicking and secure him to the table. Watch out for that arm, he's already hit me in the head once!"

DG lay across his upper legs as she'd been instructed and tried to grab his flaying right hand at the same time. She wasn't quick enough and he swung from the shoulder, backhanding her across the cheek. It almost sent her sprawling to the floor, but she gripped the table until she got her footing back. This time she used both hands to grab his wrist while refusing to let him buck her off his legs in the process. It took all her strength to pull his arm to his side, but once it was in place, she locked it to the table by pressing her elbows against the outside of his arm. It kept it effectively trapped against his body with her sprawled across his thighs.

"Just another minute," Jenna called out as she gave the man an injection in the arm DG had managed to secure. "I really appreciate your assistance. I couldn't have held him on my own."

"Your welcome, I was glad to help." The Princess looked over her shoulder at the now subdued man. "Is he going to be all right?"

"I don't know, Miss. All that thrashing around pulled out some sutures. I can fix those, but he lost a lot of blood and a chest wound can be tricky." The girl kept on working, not really looking at the woman who had helped her. "Are you all right? Joe's got a long reach and his arm was going every which-way."

"I'm fine." DG covered her right cheek as she stood up and turned away. The last thing she wanted was to call any attention to herself, though the side of her face throbbed and her eye was watering.

* * *

Three more times she held someone's hand, giving them the only comfort she could as they died. Each time it ripped a new hole in her heart. But then a little voice would fill her head and remind her that she needed to be here, to see face to face, the destruction she'd help cause. This was part of her penance for letting go of her sister's hand fifteen years ago and allowing the Witch to roam free. 

The sound of loud footsteps echoing off stone floors pulled her back from memories of her failure in the cave. She felt adrenalin spike and realized that she was smiling for the first time all night. It sounded as if some of the men were back.

"Healer, I need a healer!" Jeb Cain called as he half-carried-half-dragged a severely wounded soldier down the steps. They were both soaking wet and covered in blood.

"What happened?" DG leapt to her feet and helped Jeb get his man to a healer's table. But her eyes kept darting back to the door and the steps looking for a familiar silhouette.

"It was a trap. The sniper's nest was a damn trap!" the young man exclaimed in frustration. "It exploded in our faces. Duncan and I were the only ones to make it out alive."

"Where's your father?" her words tumbled out breathy and hollow.

"He led the other group. Isn't he back yet?" Jeb looked around the room hoping to see a man wearing a duster and a tin man's hat, but he had no luck.

"Here ya go, honey." Old Cora handed DG a bowl of water and clean bandages. "Take care 'a the boy's head. It'll give ya somethin' ta do 'sides worry whilst ya wait. The healer will see to that one." She pointed to Duncan as she helped cut away his clothes to get to his wound. "Young Cain," she ordered. "See that she sits herself down 'afore she falls down."

"She certainly is bossy," DG sighed, more relieved than she wanted to let on that someone had given her something constructive to do when her mind had gone suddenly blank with dread.

"That's Old Cora for you." Jeb took the Princess's arm and led her away from the table where they were working on his friend. "Though you'll find she's usually right. Let's find a spot out of the main traffic area and sit down." It was the first time he'd seen her since the battle and if her bruised cheek was anything to go by, the Witch had gotten at least one good punch in before she was killed. No wonder his dad had wanted to check on the girl before they'd gone after the snipers.

"How'd you get so wet?" Deeg looked him over carefully from his damp hair and soaked coat to the blood running down the left side of his face.

"It started raining not long after we headed out." He shivered and blew on his hands to try and warm them. "Now it's stormin' something fierce. Though I gotta tell ya, we sure can use the rain. It's a good sign."

"Take off your coat and put this around you." She helped him out of his wet outerwear and handed him her blanket.

"Thanks. You have no idea how good this feels." Jeb wrapped the rough wool material around his shoulders, as he sat on the floor in front of the Princess.

"I'm not a healer, but I'll see what I can do for that head of yours." She frowned as she gently tried to stop the flow of blood from over his eyebrow. "Can't have Cain getting back and finding you bleeding all over the place," she murmured lost in thought. It was strangely soothing to care for his son. If her hand shook slightly while she was doing it, the younger man was polite enough not to acknowledge it.

"Princess, he'll be all right." Jab watched her carefully schooled expression and wondered if she was trying to imitate his dad's. He'd seen her use that wide-eyed stare once or twice before, but this time it wasn't working. Her eyes were giving her away. They were alive with worry. "He survived eight years in a tin suit. He can survive anything."

"It's just that he's my friend and…well…he's my friend," she repeated with as much conviction as she could. Never mind the other feelings that had been surfacing lately. Never mind that he made her feel light headed and wish that she knew all there was to know about being with a man.

"You're his friend too." He'd seen it as far back as the camp, when his dad had gone off to rescue her. The tension in the older man's voice when he'd asked for horses, the tight clipped words that had allowed no room for argument. He wondered if his father realized exactly what the girl was to him and knew without a doubt that it wasn't his place to say anything.

"Good, that's good to know." She gave Jeb a tight smile as she made butterfly bandages out of tape and applied them to the cut over his left eye. "He helped me when he first came out of that suit. His heart had turned to rusted metal because he believed you and your mother were dead." Her breath hitched and she stopped for a moment to regain her composure. "All he wanted was revenge, but he took the time to help. When Zero told him his family was alive, he stayed and helped me instead of going off to find…well to find what he found…Then at Adora's grave I thought it would be the end of him." She looked up unaware that tears ran down her face. "But he still helped…as I said, he's my friend," she whispered the last so softly Jeb hardly heard it.

"He told me bits and pieces of what happened, but I never realized…" He shook his head in wonder that Wyatt Cain had a shred of sanity or decency left. "Thank-you for all you did to help him." His father had told him coolly and clinically about the highlights of his trip with the Princess. DG painted a far more graphic picture. "A person can't live on hate and revenge. I've seen what happens to those that do. They become husks of the people they were. Not too long ago I was heading down that road but he led me onto another path. I think he must have learned that from you."

"Yeah right!" She rolled her eyes. "Most of the time he thought I was a major pain in the butt…ah…a pain in the neck. Any compassion he learned must have been from Raw." She swiped at her damp cheeks and began wrapping a bandage around Jeb's head. It had been a long time since she'd taken a first aid class and she was surprised how much she remembered. "Are you in any pain?" She surveyed her work with wonder.

"My head aches and my ears are still ringing." He grimaced. "I feel kinda like I was too close to a bomb when it went off." His words caused DG to pale and he wished he could pull them back the second they were out of his mouth. "You stay here. I'm going to check with the sentries and see if any of dad's group – to see if he's back yet."

After Jeb left, Deeg sat back on her heels lost in thought. Up until that moment she hadn't realized she'd been carefully watching the door each time she heard boots in the hall or on the stairs. Was that why she'd come down here, among the dead and dying, to be sure that her Tin Man wasn't? Along with that thought came the understanding that there was an alternative which was much worse! The idea made her shiver. She'd been cold for hours, but by keeping busy she'd been able to ignore it.

Her head began to swim and her hands shake. The adrenalin that had been pumping through her system was beginning to crash. Unfortunately, that was all that was keeping her claustrophobia at bay. Suddenly she felt as if the walls where closing in and the air was being sucked from the room.

"I gotta get outta here," she whispered as the light played tricks on her eyes and dark, dank, stone suddenly appeared to be emerald green marble. She shook her head and blinked quickly to erase the vision of the coffin pressing in on her.

"DG in pain," Raw's quiet rumble made her jump and look to her left. He was tending a woman a few feet away and she hadn't noticed his presence.

"No, no, I'm fine," she denied and looked at him with what she hoped was wide-eyed innocence. It had been a trick that had hidden her emotions from almost everyone in the last seven days. "I only need a breath of fresh air."

"DG need help." He met her gaze and sniffed gently. The waves of anxiety and fear she didn't know she was broadcasting filled his nostrils.

"Be right back," she mumbled as she clumsily tried to get her feet under her. She was stiff and sore after all she'd been through in the last week and the hard cold floor wasn't helping her any. She needed to make a quick escape before she lost control completely.

"DG--"

"Please, just let me go," her voice broke as she hugged herself and shot to her feet to avoid Raw's outstretched paw. If the Viewer touched her, he'd know everything she was feeling and she couldn't let that happen.

"Raw, no tell DG's secrets." He pulled back and let the young woman go without his help but only because he could feel Wyatt Cain making his way down the stairs on the other side of the room.

* * *

Cain stood on the landing five steps above the hospital level. The sentry at the north entrance had told him his son had come in wounded with another man. As much as he wanted to check on DG, he needed to be sure Jeb was safe first. Before he could locate him, Raw caught his attention. The Viewer was waving at him and pointing to the far wall. 

The Tin Man looked but all he saw was a crowd of soldiers who where injured but well enough to fend for themselves. They were headed toward the back where someone was setting up food and hot coffee.

"Father," Jeb called out as he bounded up three of the five stairs that separated them. The boy was pale with a white dressing on his forehead. He was rain soaked except for a blanket held tightly around his shoulders. "Where have you been?"

"Sending Longcoats to Hades," his voice was thick with relief that his son had made it back. "They had another sniper's nest that our intell missed. Luckily we stumbled across their trail."

"Those sons 'a bitches! Ours was a decoy," sorrow filled each word as he thought of the men he'd lost. "Duncan Specter and I were the only ones to make it back and they really did a job on Dunc."

"But you're all right?" Cain gripped his son's shoulder. He'd come too close to losing him again that night.

"Nothin' that won't heal." He pointed to his head and gave his dad a wicked grin. "Your Princess has a real gentle touch when cleaning wounds and applying bandages."

"What the hell is DG doing down here!" The secure feeling he'd had ever since he'd heard her turn the key, locking herself safely in the Tower room, crumbled.

"She's helping." Jeb watched his dad carefully, so he didn't miss the flash of concern that filled familiar ice blue eyes, seconds before they froze in anger. "No one knows who she is, well, except for maybe Old Cora but she knows everything." As a form of defense it was lame, but he was more interested in the mixed emotions that had crossed his father's face.

Cain growled and shook his head, unsure how to answer his son.

"Dad, don't be too hard on her." He reached for the older man's arm, unsure how much he should say. "She was…ah…worried about you."

"Hell!" the Tin Man muttered in disgust. In a few simple words, his son had made it almost impossible for him to be angry at her. Cain went down the steps two at a time. A few long strides and he was where the group of walking wounded had congregated, the same place where Raw had been pointing.

"DG," he called her name without thinking. A careful look between tattered Resistance uniforms and he saw black silky curls and a dark jacket pressed against the wall. "Make a hole!" he ordered sounding like the tin man he used to be.

"Cain!" DG looked around, as men shuffled out of the way. "Cain, you made it back!" She wanted to run into his arms as she'd done before but she couldn't. Too much had happened, too many feelings were surfacing.

"What the hell, Kiddo." He brushed her hair off her face with both hands. She was pinched and pale like she'd been earlier, outside of Azkadellia's room, and there was a bruise blossoming on her right cheek. "Who the hell hit you?"

"Cain, help me," she gasped and shivered as she pulled at the collar of her jacket. "Can't breathe, I can't get any air." She pressed against the wall as if her slight weight could prevent it from closing in on her.

"Shit, why didn't you say something!" He knew the signs of claustrophobia. He'd fought them everyday since coming out of the suit, but he'd never expected to see them etched on DG's features. She'd told him about the mausoleum and being trapped, but she'd been so casual about it, he'd never realized how deeply she'd been affected.

"Get me out of here," the note of hysteria in her voice told him she was hanging on by a thread and they didn't have much time.

"Let's go." He pulled her against his side, blocking her view of the open space he'd created when he pushed through the crowd around her.

"No, please," she gasped and jerked out of his arms.

"I know it's hard, but you gotta trust me, Kiddo and breathe, remember to breathe." He cautiously wrapped one arm around her shoulders and held the other out in front to keep the milling solders from pressing against her. He had the advantage of being taller and able to see over them, while she was pocketed in by bodies.

"I do trust you, but please hurry, Tin Man. The breathing part, I'm not so sure about." She buried her face in the V-neck of his shirt and could smell the mixture of warm skin, leather and gunpowder that was uniquely Wyatt Cain. '_Okay,_ _that's a good thing, it means I must be breathing,' _she thought and held on tighter. The edges of his wet coat flapped around her, making her feel as if she was surrounded by him, but instead of making her fears worse the idea soothed her battered nerves.

He felt rather than heard her words as her lips moved over his heart. It shook him to the core at how panicked she was. Not only had she called him Tin Man again, but she held on passively while he guided her to safety. She usually charged on ahead, despite the dangers involved.

"Mr. Cain," Old Cora called from the steps where she was standing beside a silently staring Jeb. "This way, bring her this way."

They were almost in the clear; almost to the bottom of the stairs when someone bumped into his back causing him to stumble, squishing DG between his body and the wall. His first instinct was to turn and fight, but the woman in his arms was grasping at his vest trying to keep from losing her footing. He knew that if she went down, surrounded as she was on all sides, any vestige of control she was able to maintain would be gone.

"I got ya, Deeg. You're not going to fall." In one decisive gesture he dropped his arm from around her shoulders to her waist, lifted her off the floor and turned quickly, elbowing the man behind him, hard in the side.

Cora sent Jeb to care for the man his father had knocked to the ground, while she led Cain and the Princess up the stairs. She took them up past the floors where soldiers were resting, up past the floor that housed the Royal family and kept on going. The wide, open staircase had become cramped and small as they went higher and higher.

"Cain, let me go. You can put me down now." He had a tight grip around DG's waist and had one hand buried deep in her hair, pressing her face against his neck.

"You stay right where you are, Kid. It's close in here and I don't want anymore problems." His voice was strained, but it wasn't from carrying her. He was fighting his own demons and didn't want her to know.

Cain fought black spots in front of his eyes. The once wide stairwell had become twisted and narrow. He knew as long as he concentrated on her he would be able to get them anywhere, so he held onto her tightly and kept on moving.

"Here we are." Old Cora opened a door that led into a wide room. Most of one side was open and surrounded by a high-walled balcony. In the back corner there was a small fireplace with red hot coals and a full wood box. Someone had left two bedrolls and a stack of blanket by the hearth. A jug and some pans were resting on the coals to stay warm, one of which gave off the wonderful aroma of stew. "This is what ya both need, somewhere warm and dry with room ta breathe."

"How did you know about this place?" Cain frowned at the old woman, as he set DG on her feet.

"Wyatt Cain, you never took the time to listen to the old legends or you'd know this t'weren't always a place where evil dwelled." Cora shook her finger at him as if he were a child again. "Once it was The Tower of The Healers."

"This isn't where we killed the Witch, is it?" Deeg shivered and held tight to her Tin Man's arm as she looked around. The room and balcony seemed smaller than the one from earlier in the day, but she was too tired to trust her memory.

"'Course not, honey. You've had 'nough 'a the bad for the time bein'."

"Good, I wasn't up to facing that place again so soon." Deeg's shoulders sagged in relief and she moved to the fire to warm her hands. "Thank you for this room. I was beginning to think I'd have to go outside to find open space and fresh air but somehow I don't think that one," she looked pointedly at Cain, "would have let me out anytime soon, without an argument."

He simply cocked an eyebrow in her direction as he hung up his wet coat and hat on a lantern peg. He'd known her long enough to tell when she was trying to distraction his attention by baiting him.

"Ya got your hands full with that one, ya do," Cora chuckled, as she beckoned him closer. "There's a clean shirt for ya with the pile of extra blankets. Your Princess has had 'nough blood to deal with tonight." She nodded to the stain left over from hours earlier. "And this here is some caba bark salve. Put it on that right cheek 'a hers. It'll take down the swelling and fix her up right quick."

"How the hell did she get hurt like that and what was she doing down there?"

"Doin' what was needed, like you was. Now it's time ta rest."

"Damnit, Cora, tell me what happened!" He glared.

"Boy, don't ya use that tin man tone of voice with me. It didn't work when you was just startin' down the Road and it don't work now. You was always in a rush 'bout the important things on the Journey." She nodded emphatically and her eyes grew soft and misty as they gazed upon the dark-haired girl huddled by the fire. "Smart man would ask her. She's got all the answers you'll ever need. Now bolt the door good and you'll be plenty safe. I'll see ta that young one 'a yours so you needn't worry 'bout him. He's strong and stubborn like his pa."

"Wait, Cora," his voice was filled with doubts. "I can't stay in here. It isn't right. The Princess and I can't…ah…share a room. Her reputation…"

"It's the only place she's gonna get any rest. You gonna leave 'er here alone when she needs ya?"

"No…no of course not." He didn't understand his continued need to protect DG. He'd made a promise to the Mystic Man, but what was going on inside of him was more than that. It didn't make sense. He knew all about false feelings that could develop between a man and a woman under stress, when bound together by danger and adrenalin. He was a smart man who knew right from wrong and when to ignore misleading emotions, though by the gleam in Cora Nightingale's eyes the old healer didn't.

"Take care of your Princess, Wyatt Cain. The old legends are true. It was proven tonight. The Queen and Prince Consort lived a lie for fifteen annuals to protect their hidden daughter."

"Some legends may be, Old Woman." He couldn't discount them completely as he had in the past. In the last few days he'd seen the strength of light from a Princess and the magic of the fabled Emerald, but that didn't make all the legends true. "Some are nothing more than myths!" he growled. He and Adora had never believed in the old ways and he wasn't about to change now, just because she'd passed on down the Road, gone forever on her solitary journey.

"Humph," Cora mumbled under her breath as left them alone.

Cain leaned against the closed door and relaxed for the first time all day. They were safe for the moment. The Tower was secure and well guarded. He would see that the Princess ate something and then he planned on moving her somewhere more appropriate for the night.

His resolve lasted only as long as it took for him to take a good look at DG, sitting across the room. Despite all they'd been through, in the last seven days, he knew that the hours since the double eclipse had been the hardest on her. There were dark patches on the sleeves of her jacket, that he'd bet eight annuals back pay, were dried blood. She was shivering, even with her back pressed against the warm wall of the fireplace. But it was her face that made him rethink his plan. The coals from the fire caused her marred cheek to appear hot and painfully bright! The thought that someone had hurt her like that made him ache. All worries of propriety or modern thinking versus old legends flew down the road. She was his to protect and he was damn well going to take care of her!

He turned with quiet deliberation and drove the four-inch bolt into place, locking the rest of the O.Z. out and the two of them in for the night.

**TBC**


	3. Stretched To The Limits

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter

**Rating: **PG-13

**Making Memories Of Us**

_By Lattelady_

**Ch 3 – Stretched To The Limits**

* * *

_I'm gonna be here for you from now on_

_This you know somehow_

_You've been stretched to the limits but it's alright now._ – Making Memories Of Us by Keith Urban

* * *

As Cain unfastened his holster and removed his vest, he watched DG fidgeting by the hearth. The kid was a mess. Though he was relieved she'd lost that pinched panicked look from when he'd pulled her out of the crowd of soldiers, he knew she was a long way from all right. 

"Give me your jacket, Kiddo." He knelt in front of the fire, grabbed a cooking knife and slit a hole in the middle of one of the blankets.

"Humm." She jumped at the sound of his voice and blinked slowly as if she was having trouble focusing.

"Your jacket," he insisted. "There's dried blood all over the sleeves. Put this on for the time being." He held out a makeshift poncho.

"Owww," she wrinkled her nose in degust, as she pulled off the stained black leather. "I thought I was imagining it after what happened down…" She shook her head and her chin rose determined to get to the other side of what was making her feel weak and vulnerable. She hated that she'd needed rescuing tonight. "I…ah thought it was from your shirt…but I…ah don't remember the stench from before." As saves went she figured it was pretty lame, so she was happy for the poncho he dropped over her head, it hid her face for another moment.

"It could've been both." He was willing to give her that much for tonight, but tomorrow he planned on getting to the bottom of what had happened in that field hospital. "One thing for sure, it's damn rank. I've been wearing it for seven days." He snagged the shirt Cora had left him from on top of the pile of blankets and quickly changed, but didn't bother to fasten the clean garment.

"Is my jacket totaled?"

"What?" He shook his head at her odd expressions, though he thought he understood that one. "If you're asking if it's ruined, I doubt it." He looked it over carefully. "A good tanner should be able to restore it in no time." Except for the stained area the garment was soft and supple and gave off a scent that he always associated with the Princess. When he realized that he'd been caressing the lining he quickly grabbed his discarded shirt and took both items to the other side of the room

"Good, it's my favorite…and I guess…ah…my only one," her voice rose in pitch and DG stifled a giggle caused more by nerves than humor. She pulled the blanket poncho tightly around her to keep from shivering, as she slumped back against the warm wall of the fireplace.

"Don't get too relaxed. We've got things to do before you can go to sleep." He took off his wet boots and placed them far enough from the hearth so the leather wouldn't be ruined by the heat as they dried.

"I'm not sure I'll ever sleep again. My mind is going in too many directions at once." She blinked and breathed in the clean damp air as she watched the storm rage twenty feet away. The pounding of the rain almost drowned out the sound of Cain pouring hot water, from a jug on the fire.

"Here ya go." He slid a basin between them. "You're cleaner than I am, so you should go first."

"Believe me; I'm not all that clean." She rolled her eyes in at him. "Besides, how many times did all four of us share the same tiny stretch of stream or over-sized puddle when on the trail? Dig right in there Mr. Cain." DG slid out of her shoes and knelt opposite the Tin Man."

"If you insist, Princess."

"I do. The only reason I'm not mud spattered and covered in days of dirt is because Az took one sniff and sent me off to her bathing room." Deeg didn't add that since it had felt as if the walls had been closing in on her every second of the time, she'd washed up as quickly as possible. "While I was in there, someone must have used some sort of spell on my clothes, because they were suddenly clean."

She leaned over the basin and began washing her hands along side Cain's. The first time her fingers bumped against his in the water, it hardly registered, but as it happened repeatedly she became distracted. She sat back on her heels suddenly confused. She'd spent almost a week in the presence of three males. She knew personal things about each man that she doubted even they were aware of. Why was this different? There was something hypnotic about watching water run through his fingers as he leaned over the basin and washed his face.

When he began to run a wash cloth over his chest and under his arms she kept her eyes glued to the water. Way did watching a man wash up suddenly feel intimate? She couldn't count the number times she'd seen Popsicle trudge into the mud room off the kitchen, drop his suspenders and go through almost exactly the same motions. It had been nothing, just her Pops cleaning up for dinner after a day in the fields, but this was _something_. It made her hands shake and despite the layer of ice that seemed to have taken up permanent residence deep within her, her skin felt hot and tingly.

"Princess you didn't finish." He looked up and her eyes were hooded as she stared into the basin.

"I…well…I didn't want to crowd you."

"You can't fool me. You didn't want to wash in this." He pointed to grime floating on discolored liquid. "I can't say that I blame you." He got up and tossed the contents of the basin out onto the balcony and let the rain pound down on the empty container until it was clean.

"Here ya go." He poured fresh water for her and handed her a clean wash rag.

"Thanks," she muttered and then gasped when she tried to rince the right side of her face. It had been throbbing since she'd been accidentally hit, but she didn't think it would be as painful as it was to try and cleanse the area.

"Deeg, look at me." He knelt in front of her barely able to suppress his anger. He'd hoped that it was the glow from the fire that had made her face look as bad as it did. But the tender condition of her skin proved him wrong. He reached for a clean cloth, swished it in the hot water and clenched his fist to wring it out. Unfortunately it did nothing to suppress the fury that was slowly mounting.

"Mr. Cain, I can do this myself!" she grouched at him. He was so close she could smell his damp skin and it didn't help her composure any.

"Then why haven't you?" He glared at her. "Cora left some salve for that bruise, but the skin has to be thoroughly cleaned first," his voice tightened when he thought of what had happened to cause most of the right side of her face to be red and swollen.

"It's not what you think." She heard pain and guilt behind his words and hated that she'd caused it.

"You gonna tell me that someone didn't take their hand to you?" He tipped her chin toward the fire and threaded his fingers through her hair to push it aside so he could get a better look at the damage. One of the sadder parts of being a tin man had been seeing folk who'd been mistreated by bigger stronger ones. Unfortunately he knew exactly what he was looking at. "Back handed you I expect."

"Yes…no…it wasn't like that." She gripped his wrist. They were kneeling inches apart and he'd never looked grimmer.

"Then why don't you tell me what it was _like_." He gently traced the contour of her cheek, the side of her chin and up into her hairline beside her eye. He had large strong hands, but whoever had hurt her had bigger ones. It made his insides boil.

"He…ah…was out of his head with pain…not even conscious really." She closed her eyes and relaxed against Cain's hand. He was supporting her head as he carefully washed her cheek. Though she could have cared for her own injury, she knew that something in him needed to do it for her. "I was trying to hold him down while the healer's apprentice finished up and didn't do as good a job as I should have."

"You shouldn't have been there. It's wasn't safe." It took all his effort to keep from grinding his teeth.

"Not safe for who?" her voice shook as she tried to turn confused thoughts into coherent sentences. "That poor man who was in so much pain he almost threw himself off the healer's table?" She pulled back far enough so her raging blue eyes met his icy ones. Once she started, she couldn't stop the emotions that poured out of her. "Or all those people who died before they even made it as far as that table? Was it safe as they lay on that cold stone floor bleeding to death with no one but a stranger to give them comfort? What about the men who went out with you and Jeb, how safe were they?" Her fingers dug into his shoulders at the horrors of the day, the week, her entire life, if the truth be told. "My God, Tin Man," her voice caught and broke, but she kept on going. "No one was safe, not them, not your son…not you!"

Jeb had said she'd been worried about him. At the time it had made no sense, though he'd known it was true and refused to admit it. After all, he was the one who was supposed to worry about her. Now he understood that sometime in the last few days the Princess had added deep concern for his safety to the burden of things she was carrying around. He wasn't sure he wanted that responsibility. The last woman who'd felt that way about him had been killed by Longcoats.

"Deeg…" He wanted to say more but words wouldn't come, at least not words he could say to her. Instead he pulled her into a tight embrace and tried to catch his breath while he fought thoughts and feelings he'd always believed were nothing but myth.

She held on tightly and took the comfort he was giving her. It wiped away all the odd thoughts she'd been having about him. He was Cain, her Tin Man and that was all there was to it. The feel of his skin under her cheek and the sound of his heart in her ear didn't mean anything except that he was the first man to ever hold her like that. Otherwise there was no significance, really no significance at all and she'd keep telling herself that for as long as she needed to, until she finally believed it.

He didn't know how long he held her, but he waited until his head stopped spinning and his blood stopped pounding in his ears before he spoke again. "You saw to Jeb for me and I'm thinking a number of others who were a lot worse off." No wonder Old Cora had warned him about the blood on his shirt. His Princess had been in the thick it, in a field hospital, an hour or so after a battle. The stains on her jacket had already told him she hadn't stood by as a Royal observer. Her panicked words simply reaffirmed it. "I owe you for that, we both do."

"No, please don't say that."

"I want to. Jeb's my son!" He'd never understood the strong love he felt for his child. It was a deep well of emotion that had always been there. He remembered Adora laughing and telling him it was part of nature's plan. It was what kept sleep deprived parents from going crazy until their little one finally slept through the night. It made teething bearable and saw most children through the terrible-twos.

"All right." DG nodded knowing she needed to accept his thanks for his sake and not hers. "But for the rest, what I did was too little far too late." She pushed away from him wishing with all her heart that she'd been stronger in the Witch's cave fifteen years earlier. "And there's still so much to do." _'So much to make up for,'_ the words whispered through her mind.

"You're right about that but we'll worry about tomorrow after the suns come up in the morning. First we have to get through tonight." He tipped her chin upward to re-examine her cheek. It was still an angry red and he figured it hurt like hell. "This needs tending. Once it's taken care of do you think you can put some food on our plates without burning yourself?" he smirked at her as he issued the challenge.

"I believe I can handle that little chore, Mr. Cain." Her brow arched and a ghost of her old infectious grin flitted across her features.

"Good, then I can get us organized for the night." He held her lower jaw between his thumb and forefinger and scooped up some caba bark salve. "This is going to sting," he warned and looked her in the eyes, but didn't wait for her approval. He'd used the remedy often enough to know how painful it was until it began working and he'd be damned if he'd make her agree to be hurt.

"Ouch!" she gasped and dug her finger into his shoulders. "You weren't kidding!" It felt like her skin was on fire where he was applying Old Cora's mixture.

"Almost done," his voice was gruffer than normal and his hand shook as he tried to keep his touch as light as he could.

"Please hurry." She bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly to keep from crying out again.

"Give it a second." He blew gently on the area where he'd applied the medication to try and relieve the sting.

DG's eyes flew open as she felt his breath on her face. They were so close that his nose occasionally brushed against her bangs.

"Is that better?"

"Pardon?" She blinked wondering for a moment if he realized she had crush on him and was playing with her. It only took a moment for her mind to clear. Any other man might do such a thing, but not Wyatt Cain. He was still deeply in love with Adora, and too honorable a man to make light of her growing feelings, if he was even aware of them.

"Your cheek, is it feeling better?" He was crouched above her, a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah….it's getting kinda numb," she knew her words were slurred, but couldn't help it. "Thanks for…well…just thanks for taking care of me tonight."

"You're…ah…welcome." He'd hurt her and he didn't like that she was thinking him for it, but that thought made no more sense than a number of things that were filling his head lately, so he ignored it. Instead he took another moment to inspect her injury.

"Am I going to live, Mr. Cain," her sass was back and she needed it desperately if he was going to stay so close with his hands holding her face inches from his.

"That all depends on that mouth of yours." He let her go and stood, buttoning his shirt in the process.

She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry in disappointment or sigh in relief when he put some distance between them. To hide her uncertainty she turned to the supplies left by the fire and began looking for what she needed to serve them dinner. It caught her by surprise that she began to shiver again. When Cain had been touching her it had made the chills coming from deep within manageable. Now they were back in full force.

As she gathered plates and eating utensils she told herself that it was her imagination. It had been her preoccupation with trying not to cry, as that God awful herb remedy had made the nerve endings on the right side of her face scream, that took her mind off how cold she was. It had nothing to do with Wyatt Cain. In desperation she grabbed some wood to feed the fire. If she had a nice roaring blaze it was bound to help.

"Deeg, don't build it too big," he warned from behind her were he was laying out the two bed rolls. "Remember the rules of The Road."

"But we're not traveling any longer?"

"No, but we've got a wall open to the outside." He pointed to the balcony. "Can't be too careful."

It was a fight she wasn't going to win, so she didn't even try. She pulled her blanket-poncho tighter around her.

"Here, this might help." He pushed a sleeping bag toward her. "Sit on it instead of the stone floor. You're shivering again."

"Thanks, it's just that my magic is depleted," she muttered and couldn't look him in the eyes.

"I remember." He slid his bed roll next to hers, careful to keep them a few inches apart. "Maybe food will help with that."

"Oh my goodness," she gasped as she took the lid off the pot that had been simmering on the coals. "It's Momster's stew. She always made it for me when I was sick, or if I had a big exam, anytime she thought I needed a little something to make it through the day. How could Old Cora have known?" DG was swamped with a wave of homesickness so strong she could almost taste it. "I thought I imagined I smelled it, just like the blood. But this time it was something I wanted badly to be real."

Cain knelt beside her and looked into the pot. "That's Healer's Stew. It's been around forever. I can remember my grandmother making it. It has all sorts of special herbs and spices: garlic, cinnabark, gingin and some juice from yellow Papey fruit, if I remember correctly. It's supposed to be good for you."

"It's all real isn't it?" She looked around the room feeling very cut off and alone. "Every time I think I understand what's happened, a new travel storm comes along and drops me on my head." God she missed her mother—not the queen, but the woman who'd raised her. She refused to think of the man and woman she'd thought of as her parents for most of her life as damn robots! They'd been real to her and that was all that mattered. "I knew when I saw Mill Town, but not in here." She put her hand over her left breast above her heart. "My whole life has been a lie. How am I supposed to know what's true and what isn't." She looked at him with eyes that were bright with unshed tears.

"Trust what you know in there." He slowly dragged the knuckle of his right forefinger over the back of her hand covering her heart. "It may take longer for things to make sense, but when they do, you'll know the answers are the right ones." She'd given him advice something like that when his thirst for revenge had been eating him alive. He hoped he could return in some small measure the comfort she'd given him.

* * *

DG slowly ate her stew and tried to pretend she was sitting back in the big kitchen in Kansas. She didn't give a damn about its medicinal properties. The food tasted the same, but it didn't have the same emotional pick-me-up that her Monster's did. 

"If you're not going to eat, drink this." Cain handed her the cup of tea they were sharing. There had been two of everything except cups. They'd shrugged and ignored the inconvenience. It wasn't the first time they'd shared and she doubted it would be the last as long as they were living off the supplies of the Resistance.

"I'm eating, already!" she grouched and tried to ignore the way he was pulling at the collar of his borrowed shirt. Instead of the usual loose fit around the top, this one had five tiny buttons at the neckline giving it a tight fit.

"You are not!" he argued.

"Stop that!" she snapped and leaned over to undo the buttons on his collar.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He gripped her hand and wouldn't let go.

"I'm trying to make you comfortable. It's me, DG. You know, the one who freaked-out in a crowd of five people and had to be rescued like some freakin' damsel in distress. Just undo the buttons so you can breathe!" her voice wobbled as if she were the one feeling the room close in on her.

"It's not supposed to be worn that way," he mumbled.

"I doubt the fashion police are getting past the bolt on that door and if they do you can always shoot 'em."

"Someday you're gonna have to explain that one to me." He rolled his eyes at her strange Other Side expression and fumbled with the tiny buttons on his collar. He not only unfastened them, but went one beyond, until the shirt fit him like his own did. "Thanks, that's better."

"No problem," she sighed. "While we're on the subject of claustrophobia," at the mention of the word all the fight went out of her. "I can't sleep in that sleeping bag. It doesn't have a zipper on it." The idea of crawling into the top and being confined gave her the creeps.

"Of course it doesn't. Zippers are only used by healers." He'd already noticed the one on her jacket and couldn't help wondering at the oddities of the world she'd been living in. "No worries, Kid, I wasn't going to fight you on that one."

* * *

Later they lay on their separate bedrolls. DG was on her side, facing the fire. Cain was on her other side. He'd been careful to keep three inches of stone floor between their sleeping bags. His back was turned and he had his weapon out of its holster and within easy reach. 

"Princess, you should have told me about the claustrophobia sooner." He knew she wasn't up to talking about this now but it had been eating at him since he'd seen the look of panic on her face in the field hospital. "I can't keep you safe if I don't have all the facts."

"I was terrified when I was trapped, but…but who wouldn't be?" She saw herself frantically pushing against immovable marble and remembered crying out for Cain's help, eventhough she knew it wasn't coming. "It felt like it was happening all over again when I was in Az's room."

"Easy there, Kiddo." He turned and ran his hand up and down her back. "You're not trapped anymore. You're here and safe. Keep reminding yourself of that."

"Does it always help?"

"Most of the time," he sighed knowing it wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"That's one of the things I like best about you, Wyatt Cain. I never have to worry that you'll give me false reassurances."

"I wish I could say the same about you Why didn't you tell me you were having problems before I made you promise to lock yourself in that small windowless room?" Big help he'd been. In his effort to keep her safe, he'd put her in a place that sent her running off into danger. Trust his Princess to find trouble the second his back was turned.

"I couldn't," her voice hitched and she turned over to face him. "I was locked in that damn coffin for a matter of minutes. You survived years—annuals when you were imprisoned. It seemed foolish and silly of me to complain about something that I was sure was a one time occurrence."

"Deeg--"

"Please, no more lectures tonight," her voice was soft and broken and it cut to his heart. "I really think I'll be fine in the morning. I'll wake up with my magic restored and all the rest of me back to normal too."

Ice blue eyes met sapphire ones as he looked for reassurance. "All right, we should get some sleep." He nodded and pulled her blankets tighter around her as she turned away from him. He would have been happier if he hadn't felt her shivering beneath her covers.

"Tin Man," she whispered a few minutes later. "May I lean against you?" She was so cold it was a battle to keep her teeth from chattering, though he'd given her all but one blanket, it wasn't enough.

Cain looked over his shoulder and saw her curled in a ball. "Move over, Kiddo" He turned and joined her on her bedroll. Once he'd rearranged the blanket so they were covering both of them he pulled her into his arms.

"Ohhh, that's nice," she sighed and rolled over so her face was buried against his neck. "If I'd known how much body heat you gave off, I'd have curled up against you every night on the trail."

"Just go to sleep, Deeg."

He ran his hand up and down her back and the skin of her arm from her sleeve to her wrist. The make-shift poncho she'd been wearing was somewhere among the blankets that were piled on them. He hadn't realized how cold she was until she was pressed against him and did his best to share his body heat.

He watched her eyes grow heavy and felt her breathing become deep and even. She was still shivering, but it was easing some. That was another thing he added to his list of things to talk to her about in the morning. He was supposed to protect her, and she wasn't helping at all. His mind froze on that thought. Who the hell had put him on Princess detail? She was with her family now, why did he still feel as if he couldn't let her out of his sight? Whatever the reason, it didn't matter. It felt right and good to have her snuggled up against him. If there were questions, those too could be addressed in the morning.

Once Cain was sure she was asleep, he gently combed his fingers through her hair to expose her right cheek. It was looking better. Cora's salve was working. The angry red that marred her pale skin from chin to just below the eye was fading and the swelling had almost disappeared.

As he looked down at her, he had a moment of disorientation at the strange sight of dark ringlets flowing over his arm. Adora's hair had been straight and light brown. His eyes flutter shut when he though of his wife of 18 annuals--or was it only 10? Should he count the annuals he'd spent in the suit? Had she? If they had believed in the Legend of the Cariad, he wouldn't have had to wonder. The answer would have been a resounding yes. He shook his head and refused to waste energy on useless speculation.

He was well aware that the memory loop he'd been forced to watch when he'd been imprisoned in metal had stopped time for him mentally and the environmental controls had done the same for him physically. In many ways he was just as displaced as the wisp of a girl who had set him free.

"Tin Man," she whispered and snuggled closer. "Don't let go…" her words vibrated against his nick, more felt than heard. It did strange things to his insides.

"I've got you Deeg," he mumbled into her hair. One of the small missing pieces of the puzzle fell into place. He could finally answer why he was on Princess Detail that no one had asked him to join. It was because she needed him to be there and as long as she did, it was alright with him.

Wyatt Cain felt one last time for his weapon. Before he fell asleep, he wanted to be sure he knew exactly where it was and that it was within easy reach. He had a Princess to protect.

**TBC**

* * *

**AN: **Sorry for the fluff, so I've added this tasty bit so you can enjoy what DG did while growing up. 

**Healer's Stew – with Momster's Other Side conversions **

1 yellow onion

46 oz vegetable stock (or chicken)

2 cups sliced tomatoes

14.4 oz can of Garbanzo beans, drained

¼ C tomato paste

2 – ½ inch pieces of gingin (ginger on the Other Side)

1 stick cinnabark (cinnamon on the Other Side)

zest from 2 yellow Papay fruit (lemons on the Other Side)

Juice from 3 yellow Papay fruit (lemons on the Other Side)

2 large cloves of garlic – minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1½ C. thinly sliced zucchini

¼ C raisons

½ lbs. sliced chicken breast if meat is desired, (the orginal has none)

Combine onions (sauté chicken if being used). Add broth, carrots, tomatoes, garbanzo beans, tomato paste, cinnabark, and gingin in a large soup pot. Bring it to a boil and cover on low heat for 15 min.

Meanwhile combine yellow Papay fruit zest, juice, gingin and pepper flakes.

When 15 min is up add mixture, sliced zucchini, and raisons. Let simmer over low heat for 1 hour.


	4. Cariad

**Disclaimer: **See chapter 1

**Rating: **PG-13

**Pairing: **Cain/DG

**Note 1: **_Cariad_ is the Welsh word for 'beloved one'.

**Note 2: **This went longer than I had hoped, but there isn't a good breaking point and there were things that needed to be included.

**Reminder: **I've only seen the Mini once and that was months ago. Sorry if there are glaring errors.

**Ch 4 – Cariad **

by

_Lattelady_

* * *

_I want to steal your attention like a bad outlaw_ – Making Memories Of Us – By Keith Urban

* * *

The first thing DG realized, when she woke, was that she wasn't cold any longer. Then she was aware that something rough and spiky pressed against her left cheekbone. She blinked and her lashes caught on blonde stubble. Her head was on Wyatt Cain's shoulder and he had both arms around her. One of his hands was buried in her hair, pressing her face against his neck and chin and the other rode low on her waist, pinning their bodies together. She was surrounded by him. The thought made her head swim and brought a smile to her face. 

Her heart skipped a beat when the hand on her waist slid lower until it cupped her bottom. She lost the capacity to breathe when his fingers squeezed and a soft rumble moved though his chest as he shifted in his sleep, bringing them even closer. Things were moving too fast. If she wasn't careful, she was afraid she was going to get a quick education on a subject that shouldn't be taught in haste.

She felt something pressing into her stomach and fought a primitive urge to move against it. It would be so easy. One little rock of her hips and she had no doubt Cain would have her flat on her back and…and…and…It was the _and_ that made her stop. Though she was inexperienced, she knew her Tin Man would never hurt her, but she would hurt him if she responded to his unconscious advances. A quick look upward proved her right. His eyes were moving back and forth under closed lids. He was in REM sleep: dreaming!

Too many emotions to count swirled through her, but she clamped down on them. He had no idea where he was and more importantly, who he was with. He hadn't liked that she'd woken him from a nightmare the night after discovering Adora's grave. He'd be mortified if he knew she'd not only been a spectator, but a partial participant, to this one.

She faked a yawn and tried to turn away from him. For one quick moment his grip tightened, as if he wouldn't let her go, then she felt him instantly waken.

"Deeg?" he questioned, unsure of where he was. All he could remember was holding her to protect her from the cold that had attacked her from the inside out. Then in the early morning hours he'd had a dream about a woman. His mind automatically supplied the name Adora, but something about it didn't fit.

"Hmmm," she feigned sleep, forcing her body not to react as he cupped her shoulder.

"Are you all right? I didn't squish you did I?" He blinked and ignored how tight his pants felt. It was morning. He was male. That was life. He only hoped the Kid hadn't noticed. He didn't want to upset or frighten her.

"I'm fine," she stretched and sat up. "Doing much better than I was last night." She had trouble meeting his eyes, but what she had to say was too important to give in to shyness. "You saved my life, you know?"

"I doubt it was that serious--"

"Please, let me finish." She knelt beside him. Her knees pressed against his chest. "I've never felt cold like that. It was _that_ serious! I don't think I'll be laughing at the idea of Az's getting uncontrollable hiccups when her magic is depleted, even if it did give the Wicked Witch a terrible time."

"You're sure that's what it was for you, Kiddo, exhausted magic?" She'd been fragile and vulnerable the night before and he knew he would have done about anything to give her ease.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now." Her eyes were large and blue as she tried her best to reassure him.

"Then I'd have to agree with you. Your sister's hiccups aren't so funny after all. If that had been your problem last night, I don't know what I could have done to help." He sat up, careful to keep the blankets covering him from the waist down. Cold was easy to fix. A little shared body heat and…his mind shied away from the sudden mental picture of his skin warming hers…all it did was make his pants fit tighter. _Think hiccups_ he told himself. _Yeah that was better. He'd give her lost of water to cure chronic hiccups._

"Thank you." She smiled and curled her hand lightly over his shoulder, imitating the way he reached for her in times of stress. "Not only for keeping me warm, but because by all that's holy you should wish Azkadellia nothing but ill will."

"Princess, I saw what happened after the eclipse. Your sister had no control over what the Sorceress did in her name. She was used just as many others of us were by the Witch."

"All we have to do, now, is convince the rest of the Outer Zone of that small fact," she did her best to sound unconcerned, but one look at Cain's serious gaze made her heart plummet. "You don't think it's going to be easy do you?"

"I don't know." He shrugged and looked her over carefully. "I have a meeting with the Queen and Prince after breakfast. It'll give me a better idea of what we're up against."

"Does that mean you're going to stay and help?" DG smiled brightly at the prospect. She knew she shouldn't ask. He had his son back and eight annuals to make up for, but the prospect of losing him was more than she could bear.

"I promised the Mystic Man I'd see to your safety and…"

"Yes, you told me that last night," her words were clipped, as the joy went out of her world at the prospect that he saw her as nothing more than a duty to be preformed. "Well, Mr. Cain, you've taken excellent care of me."

"I'm not so sure of that." He frowned and tilted her face toward him for a better inspection.

"I'm perfectly all right!" she huffed. "Whatever was in Cora's torture salve certainly worked. My cheek isn't numb and it feels completely normal."

"It's still a bit pink, but I doubt anyone who doesn't know what happened to you would be able to tell." He ran his thumb over the right side of her face as he held her chin in his hand. "But this…" He let the words hang as he examined a reddened area high on her left cheek bone. He opened the salve and put a small amount on one finger. "Hold still. You can't go running around looking like this, especially if anyone knows I was in here with you during the night."

"Ouch!" She jumped and glared at him. "I wasn't hit on that side. What the hell are you doing?"

"Whisker burn." He smirked as he let her go. "Not sure how that happened."

"You obviously need a shave, Mr. Cain!" She stomped to her feet, her emotions in a mess. She'd never heard of anyone getting whisker burn without getting at least one kiss to show for it. She wanted to wail that it wasn't fair, but thought better of it, when she remembered the way his face had been pressing against hers on waking.

DG walked to the balcony entrance to let the early morning air cool her agitated feelings. The night's downpour had given way to a light drizzle that was slowly being burned away as the suns rose higher in the sky.

"Awesome, I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful! Everything's washed clean," she gasped staring off in the distance. The world glistened. Even the dark stone of the Tower was scrubbed sparkling white. "Look over there." She pointed where double rainbows marched from the tips of the high mountains across the sky for as far as she could look in any direction.

"Great Gale, they've returned!" Cain quickly slid into his vest and began buttoning it. "Get your shoes, Kid!" He tossed them at her as he pulled on his boots.

"But…"

"No buts. Get going!" his voice crackled with excitement and urgency as he dug through the nest of blankets where they'd been sleeping. "Here, put this on." He threw the poncho her way and ran to his still damp coat and dug through the inner pockets.

"Wait a sec!" DG tied her shoes and glared at her companion. "What's this all about?"

"Your mother is going to need you for this." He replied cryptically as he shoved his razor in the pocket of his vest. "Put the damn blanket over your head!" he ordered as she tried to follow him out of the room without it.

"I'm not cold!"

"Yeah and you're not going to be either!" Cain grabbed the scratchy material and shoved it over her head. "Now come on!" He took her hand and headed for the door.

"Whooo!" DG gasped and came to a dead stop when the dark cramped landing at the top of a spiral staircase was revealed. "You carried me up here last night?" Her brows rose alone with her estimation of Wyatt Cain.

"Yeah, well I didn't have much choice." With a key he pulled from the pock of his vest, he locked the bolt from the outside. "You gonna be all right, Princess?" Her mouth had that pinched look that he remembered from the night before and she held onto his hand as if her life depended on it.

"Sure, I'm fine, really just fine," her voice was breathy and hollow.

"Let's go!" He laced his fingers through hers for added support and headed down the stairs. He could tell she was a long way from _fine_ but he wasn't sure what he'd do if she froze or began to fight him in the confines of the stairwell. He was only hanging on by a thread himself.

Together they raced down the steps. With each flight the stairs became wider, less steep and more open. They slowed their decent when they heard Queen Lavender's voice not too far below them.

"Rejoice, the rainbows have returned to the Outer Zone. It is proof that Goodness has triumphed over Evil." The Queen stood on the landing above the main hall of the Tower, speaking to the large crowd that had gathered seeking guidance. Ahamo was on her right with his hand placed securely at the small of her back. Azkadellia was to her mother's left. Her hand that gripped Glitch's was hidden in the folds of her skirt. "It is time to rebuild our home and recover from the damage inflicted on us by the Witch."

Cain and DG made it as far as the last step before the landing, above the Royal family, when he suddenly stopped and pinned DG's back to the wall. "Wait," he whispered in her ear.

She looked around his arm and caught sight of Az. What she could see of her was frail and drawn. "My sister---" Before she could finish his left hand shot out and covered her mouth.

"Be quiet!" the words were little more than a breath against her ear and his palm tightened against her lips, as he leaned against her.

For a moment she struggled until she remembered who was holding her in place. It wasn't until later that night, as she was tossing in her bed, fighting claustrophobia, that she realized, no matter how much small spaces caused her to panic, she knew she was safe when her Tin Man was there.

"If I let go, will you be quiet?" He searched her eyes until she nodded in agreement. "Now, stay here," he mouthed as he drew his weapon. But one look at her frightened face sent him searching in his pocket for the key to the room where they'd slept. "If there's anything the slightest bit odd, you have to promise me you'll run back up and lock yourself in," his quiet words whispered against her hair, and drowned out what the Queen was saying below them. "Promise me, Princess," he demanded until he felt her nod in agreement.

She shivered when he moved away quickly and soundlessly. She'd admired his easy grace before, but never more than she did now. His stood on the balls of his feet, with his knees bent and his body slightly hunched, taking advantage of every inch of darkness offered by the unlit area where two walls of the stairwell met.

"….My daughters have been returned and together their magic was strong enough to kill the Sorceress and set me free--" Lavender's voice broke as the light shifted and a rainbow arched in through the tiny slit of a window ten stories up in the stairwell. It hit the wall behind DG and bathed her in colors before traveling to Azkadellia, surrounding both women and finally in paler form to include their mother.

A gasp followed by a hush rose from the restless crowd and they surged forward to get a better look. The light of Glinda was giving its approval of not just the Princess Dorothy Gale, who was hidden from most of the spectators, but of the ex-Sorceress as well.

"It's a sign…"

"It's a sign."

"Praise be to Glinda…It's a sign" The words traveled from one person to next, until every man, woman and child was chanting. "The Good has returned."

The Queen nodded encouragement to Az, and together they stepped forward, both still sparkling in colors. But it was the oldest Princess who spoke, "It is time to move ahead. Many Longcoats served the Witch, thinking they were being loyal to me. I ask again, as I did last night, that any citizen of the O.Z. who is faithful to the House of Gale, come forward and help us rebuild in the name of my mother, Queen Lavender Eyes."

The announcement was met with mixed emotions. The lines had been drawn for too many annuals for most people to simply let things go and forgive and forget.

From his vantage point, Cain watched the crowd carefully; glad he'd been smart enough to keep his Princess out of the public eye. The longer she was able to keep from being recognized at a moments notice, the happier he was, especially now when there was so much doubt and distrust among the citizens of the Outer Zone.

* * *

"Dorothy Gale, you should have come forward. The people need to see both of their Princesses," the Prince Consort chided, as he passed his youngest on the stairs. "It is important that we stand united behind your mother." He had his arm tightly around the Queen, concern for his wife's welfare written clearly on his face. 

"I thought it wiser that she remained unseen for the time being, Sir." Cain stepped between father and daughter.

"But why?" Az cut in. "The ancient magic of the rainbows – the magic of the Light split into its entire spectrum - included her too. People need to know that! It's her birthright!"

"It wasn't her birthright I was concerned with, but the temperament of the crowd." The Tin Man would not be deterred.

"Mr. Cain has a point." Lavender lay her hand on her husband's arm. Ahamo was one of the main sources of her strength and he took his job very seriously. Since their long separation, he was more determined than ever to protect and care for her. It was his sure steadying presence that allowed her freedom to concentrate on larger problems.

"Wait just a minute, all of you." DG cut in. Her hands on her hips, she glared at everyone, including Glitch who hadn't said a word. "I resent being talked about as if I'm not here." She turned toward the Prince Consort. "F--father," she closed her eyes and forced herself to address him as her parent, though she doubted she'd ever feel that way about him. "Father, I believe my actions of the last week have more than shown where my loyalty lies. If you have doubts, than I suggest you conjure a travel storm and I'm outta here! And for the record, my name is DG!"

She turned and put her arms around her sister to hug her. "Az, I may have been born a princess, but I have almost zero memories of that time and no wish to rule. I am thrilled the Emerald chose you. That's what the people need to know. Now if you will all excuse me, I see Old Cora back by the cook fire and I'd really like some breakfast." She turned on her heel and headed down the stairs, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves before stepping into the milling crowd. That's when she discovered Wyatt Cain was standing beside her.

"You said something about breakfast, Princess." He placed his left palm at the small of her back and guided her through the crowd, with his right hand riding on his holstered gun. His posture and the expression on his face cleared their path like magic.

"Very interesting, very interesting indeed," Lavender murmured as she watched the couple make their way to Old Cora.

"It looks as if little sis has gained a Tin Man for protector." Azkadellia smiled gently.

"Oh there's Cain and Deeg." Glitch observed. "You already knew that didn't you?" He frowned in consternation. "Sometimes my synapses don't…oh Az, I'm sorry." He put his arm around her and ran a gentle finger over her cheek to wipe away her sorrow. He knew it upset her terribly to be reminded of what had happened to him, but couldn't for the life of him remember why.

* * *

"Dad, over here dad." Jeb waved to his father and DG, as they approached. "Did you see 'em? There must 'a been hundreds of 'em, and all those colors!" He grinned. "They were amazing. I thought that the storm last night was a sign of good things to come, but the rainbows were unbelievable. I've never seen anything like them." 

"Yeah we saw 'em." The older man smiled and thumped his son affectionately on the back. "You were only two when the Witch took power. That's about the time they vanished. I doubt you'd remember them."

"Mom told me stories all 'bout Glinda and the significance of the double rainbows. I just never thought I'd get to see 'em." Jeb's face relaxed at the memories. "But she didn't do 'em justice!"

"I'm…ah…glad that Adora…" Cain faltered as he watched his son. He realized that for the first time since they'd met again, the boy looked only seventeen annuals. Gone were the strained expression and shatter eyes of a resistance fighter who had seen too much and killed too many. Seeing the change made the Tin Man realize how badly he'd failed his family. His wife had paid with her life and he'd spent eight annuals encased in a metal suit, but Jeb had seen and done things that no boy should ever have to do. It had cost him his childhood and likely a great deal more. "Son, guard the Princess for a bit, I need to attend to some things." He pulled his razor from his pocket, took the coffee that Cora offered and headed toward the west door of the Tower. He was lost in thought and filled with guilt. It wasn't until hours later that he wondered why Adora had taught their son about Glinda. The rainbows were one thing, that was the loss of the magic of light, but they'd never believed in the Legend of Cariad and the reason it gave for double rainbows!

"What…" Jeb looked around unhappily.

"He's like that sometimes." DG couldn't take her eyes off his retreating form.

"Did I do something or say something I shouldn't have?" He watched the empty spot where his dad had been.

"No, I think it's that he misses your mother terribly," Deeg sighed. She knew from her class in freshman psychology that there were stages to go through in the grieving process. She was determined to wait him out. It was the only way she'd get to see if there was any substance to the feelings she had for him.

"Doesn't he talk about her at all?"

"As little as possible, but remember he's spent most of the last seven days with practical strangers…"

Jeb gave her an odd look because he'd heard stories, from his dad, DG, Raw and even one or two from Glitch. The four of them had been through more together in the last week than most people went through in a lifetime. They definitely weren't strangers. Even if he hadn't heard about their adventures, he could see the way any of the four of them were happier if the others were around, especially his old man and the Princess. Those two never strayed far from the other, if they could help it.

"…I know I haven't known Mr. Cain for long, but I think the things he feels deepest, aren't open for discussion." She patted the younger man's arm in consolation. "You're his son, he loves you. Give him some time."

"Here ya go, Kids." Cora handed them each a bowl of oatmeal. "You, young Missy, you're lookin' a mite scrawny, so eat it all up." She waved her serving spoon in DG's direction. "And young Cain, you're ta keep an eye on her like your daddy said. You can cavort with Jenna when your watch is ended." She'd seen the way the boy's eyes had followed the dark-haired healer's apprentice from across the room. It was a dead giveaway of how he felt 'bout the girl, ta look at her that way, when talkin' 'bout Glinda's double rainbows. In her opinion neither of the Cain men was any good at hidin' their feelings from anyone but themselves.

"Yes, ma'am," Jeb saluted smartly, but his attempt was ruined by the blush that stained his cheeks.

"Now you two git outta my way, I got hungry people ta feed. If ya go through that door ta the right, there's a courtyard. It'll give ya some space and fresh air.

"Cora…please be sure…" Deeg turned and looked through the crowd in hope of seeing Cain.

"I'll take see ta that Tin Man 'a yours, see that he eats somethin' proper afore he goes off ta his meetin'."

"Thanks!" A grin lit up the young Princess's face and she turned to follow Jeb.

Minutes later, DG looked around the courtyard in amazement. It wasn't very large, but gave the feeling of lots of open space. "Why isn't it wet out here after all that rain we had last night?" She ran her fingers lightly over a large rock before sitting on its dry surface.

"Mom told me it was part of the magic of the rainbows, part of their original purpose." Jeb checked to be sure his charge had her back to a wall and he was placed between her and the door. "The rains come every night, so the crops will grow as they should. In the morning when the suns rise, they produce the rainbows which clean the air and dry the roads and hard surfaces. If you check the soil, you'll see that it's still damp. Cora can tell you more about it than I can. She knows every legend and story there is to tell."

They sat quietly eating oatmeal and drinking hot spiced cider. The quiet and the fresh air was soothing after the argument DG had had with her…father…her mind stumbled over the word. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Jeb. The way the sunlight hit his hair, made him look blonder than he was. His posture and the way he held himself were achingly familiar.

"You're a lot like him, you know?" DG looked down quickly when the boy gave her another odd look. He didn't need to ask who she was talking about, he knew by her wistful tone of voice. "You even eat with your gun out of its holster." _Way ta go, Deeg. S_he rolled her eyes at her stupid attempt at a save. This wasn't her morning!

"Old habits die hard." He shrugged and went on eating as his eyes did a careful circuit of the parameter. "Besides, I watched him for nine annuals, as I was growing up, and what I learned kept me a live, when others around me were dying."

"He taught you well." But even as she smiled at the image of father and son in her mind, her eyes clouded over. "Why didn't…" she bit her lip to keep the rest of the words from tumbling out before she could stop them. As it was, she'd already said too much. Cain would hate it if he knew she was prying.

"What is it?" The young man watched her intently. "Go ahead and ask. It's all right."

"He spent eight annuals in that…that thing," her words were full of anguish, as she remembered what Wyatt Cain had looked like when she and Glitch had finally been able to pry the suit door open. "I'm sorry, but…why…why didn't you or your mother look for him?"

"We were told he was dead, though Mom never believed it, because it was Zero doing the tellin'. Me, I'm not sure what I believed at first, but by the time she died, I figured I was an orphan." He swiped a hand across his face. He'd seen the question in the Princess's eyes, but hadn't realized it would be so hard to answer.

"Jed, please you don't have to…" She reached for his hand to comfort him, but he pulled away.

"Yeah, yeah I do, Princess. I owe him that much and her too. We were both unconscious when they must…a…ah…put him in that thing." He swallowed hard remembering the short time he'd spent in the hell of a metal suit. He owed someone an explanation and since he knew his dad wouldn't stand still long enough for it, DG was the next best thing.

"I woke up in a prison wagon, with bodies piled all around me. Mom was out cold and bleedin' pretty bad from a head wound. We were real lucky, 'cause the first night, a band of Resistance fighters attacked and they took us with 'em. I was just a kid of nine, but there were things we could do in the Resistance. It was mostly cookin', tendin' fires and seeing to the sick, but it was something we did to stand against the Sorceress.

"She…mom…made me promise I'd never go lookin' for dad, no matter what. She said she'd given her word to him that if anything ever happened, that her one concern would be to stay alive and keep me that way. It was the last promise mom ever made him. She wasn't about to break it and I…well I did it 'cause I wasn't able to save her that last time, anymore than he was able to the first. The least I could do was keep her promise for her. I was gonna live, damnit for the both of them. It was what kept me going when…when Zero locked me in that _thing_."

"Jeb, you need to tell him, for both of your sakes," her voice cracked and she swallowed to keep from crying.

Wyatt Cain hugged the shadows on the other side of the door eavesdropping. He was angry at himself for letting his family get caught in the mess that they had. He was angry at Adora for passing her feelings of guilt on to Jeb. But most of all he was angry at DG for sticking her inquisitive little nose in matters that were none of her concern. But even as he had the thought, he saw his Princess comforting his son, something he should have been doing, but wasn't.

He leaned against the doorframe with his eyes closed and fought to keep from drowning in feelings. Behind his closed lids he had a sudden flash of the early morning and waking up with her in his arms. He knew he'd been dreaming but…but…with sudden clarity he realized the woman he'd dreamt about hadn't been Adora, but DG. In his dream she'd been freezing and he'd been doing his best to keep her warm…from the inside out….He was struck in the gut with a feeling of want so strong he could hardly breathe. To combat it, he grabbed onto the one thing that had kept him going for eight long annuals: anger! It was the only way he could face her.

The scrape of boots on stone flooring, coming from the other side of the door, alerted Jeb that they weren't alone and he turned suddenly, gun in hand.

"You're mighty quick with your weapon." Cain walked slowly out of the shadows and into the courtyard, a carefully blank expression on his face. He'd shaved and cleaned up from the night before, though his hat and coat were still locked in the room high in the Tower. He'd forgotten to get the key back from DG.

Both young people looked at him with surprise. While his son holstered his gun in relief, Deeg stood and turned away, facing the wall. It was evident he'd heard part, if not all, of what Jeb had been telling her. She hated that she'd caused him pain. He'd already suffered enough.

"If I wasn't, I'd be dead." Jeb looked back and forth between his dad, who was a bundle of closed off emotions, and the Princess, who was suddenly taking an interest in the stonework behind them. Something was very wrong, but he didn't know what it was.

"Yeah, unfortunately that's been the way of it recently. But you can pack it in for a while, I'll take over here." He wished he had his hat with him so he could pull the brim over his eyes to hide all he was feeling. He told himself that his son had been through too much and DG had no business rooting through his past. It helped feed his anger and was partially true. "Cora says there's a girl named Jenna Buckwith looking for you." His brow rose in question at the pink tinge on his son's cheeks.

"Yeah, well…ah…Jenna's folks were killed in a Longcoat raid about six annuals ago. Mom and I took her in. When she turned fifteen, Old Cora saw to it that she got an apprenticeship with a healer. Since mom died she…Jenna and I've…ah…ah…she's…ah…my friend." He winced when he glanced quickly at DG, remembering she'd said the same thing about his father the night before. The thought made his eyes bulge and he bolted for the door. _By Great Glinda's Wand, he so didn't want to compare the two relationships!_

"Princess," Cain used cool, clipped tones making the word into a title instead of the nickname that had sprung between them.

She turned slowly and could almost see him thinking. He hid so much behind those cool blue eyes and that stoic expression, but she'd learned to read the little things: the slight twitch of his right eyebrow; the way his knuckles whitened as he gripped his holster; the play of muscles along his jaw. He was furious and she had no doubt it was all directed toward her.

"Tin Man," she was hoarse, hardly able to get the words out. "I--"

"No!" he cut her off, his words sharp, cold and very quiet. "I don't want to hear your excuses! You're to leave my boy out of this. If you've got questions, ask me. He's got enough to carry around without you adding to his guilt!" He gripped her right arm and pulled her toward the door.

"Wait," she sniffed as she fought tears. "It wasn't---"

"I said, I don't want to hear it!" He tightened his hold on her and pulled her through the archway, into the Tower. "The Queen has requested that we both attend her meeting and we're late."

"Wait." She dug in her heels. "I don't give a damn how pissed off you are at me, your son or the whole God damned world!" Her eyes flashed and she pulled free. Her hands were fisted and she could hardly catch her breath. Cain was the most rational man she knew; now suddenly he was going ballistic on her. It just didn't ring true. There was more to this than he was willing to talk about.

"I'm not angry at Jeb or the world, but you Princess are another matter." He glared at her and sizzled with temper. "But it's painfully obvious you don't give a damn." Blue fire shot out of his eyes as he reached for her again. Part of him stood back and wondered what in the hell he was doing. His sudden eruption of emotions was only meant to keep her at arms length, not tear her apart.

"Don't touch me! No one—and I mean no one—manhandles me!" She turned and took off at a run, dodging through the crowd of men with one very upset Tin Man hot on her heels.

Deeg had both hands up in front of her face as she pushed against the flow of hungry Resistance fighters. Her heart was heavy and she had to fight to keep the sting of tears out of her eyes. It didn't help that it made her skin crawl to have people pressed around her on all sides.

"Come back here!" Cain growled as he caught up with her and wrapped his large hand firmly around one of her much smaller ones.

"Hey, honey is this guy botherin' ya?" A heavy set dark haired man moved in close, running his fingers up and down her arm. "Cause if he is--"

"Stay out of it!" the Tin Man grouched. His right hand hovered over his weapon, while he kept a secure hold on DG with the other.

"Back off, mister!" Deeg snapped and shook her fist at the interloper.

"Okay, okay…didn't mean ta get inta the middle 'a your little domestic squabble." He raised his hands in defense and backed away. "But ya can't blame a lonely guy for tryin'." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down before walking away laughing.

"This way." Cain wrapped his arm around her shoulders so she couldn't shake him free as he propelled her toward the stairway. "The whole idea was to draw as little attention to you as possible," he chided as they climbed the steps.

"Stop talking to me like I'm two years old!"

"'Years', Princess?" he smirked. He'd heard her use the Other Side word, so he knew exactly what she meant, but he was pissed off enough to deliberately bait her. "When you stop acting like you're two _annuals_-old, then I'll think about treating you differently."

"What the hell has gotten into you, Wyatt Cain?" She exploded and he could feel the reverberations against his body and arm. He had a moment to wonder if it was her magic, which expressed her emotions so physically, and then he had his hands full keeping her from slipping free.

"Oh no ya, don't." He gripped both of her shoulders and shoved her against the wall. They'd made it as far as the first turn in the stairway and were out of sight of the milling crowd below. "I don't give a shit how mad you are at me. You are never to run off like--"

"Stop it, just stop it!" She couldn't stand that she'd hurt something deep inside of him and he was forced to fight back with anger. But she would be damned if she'd simply stand there and docilely take his tirade. "That's not way you're angry and you know it," she accused. "So don't even pretend that it is. Now where in the hell is this meeting?"

He swore under his breath all the way to the Queen's chambers where the meeting was to be held. The damn girl had his emotions tied in so many knots he didn't know which way was up. He'd forgotten that about women, that they could set a man spinning and then blame him for it.

* * *

There were three leaders of the Resistance, Cain and the Royal family present at the meeting. 

"I want to thank you for coming," the Queen spoke first and then proceeded to go over what was known about their defenses and the location of other Resistance groups still in hiding.

Once Cain cooled dow, he watched the interaction between Lavender Eyes and Ahamo with interest. The older man usually had one hand unobtrusively resting against his wife's. At one point, when two of the Resistance leaders argued heatedly among themselves, the Prince spoke up, "Gentlemen, enough! In fighting is not solving this issue." He stood, taking the focus of the room off the Queen who had visibly paled. "Now, Gunder," he nodded to the Leader from the north. "You give us your opinion for one minute and then Jenson can speak for the south." When the Consort sat down again he gave Lavender's hand a small but significant squeeze. It restored her color and added to her strength.

The tin man wasn't sure what he'd seen. There had never been any mention of Ahamo having any magic abilities. He was a Slipper – a commoner who had stolen the Queen's heart. But there was something achingly familiar about the exchange he'd witnessed, though before this morning he'd never seen the Royal couple in person.

The younger Princess wasn't sure why she was needed at the meeting. She knew almost nothing about Outer Zone politics or economics and even less about the network of legends that seemed as powerful as any laws of the country. But she sat through the whole thing in an attempt to keep her mind off a certain Tin Man.

* * *

DG spent the afternoon helping in the field hospital and much to her dismay she had Jeb Cain as a constant shadow. She knew without being told that his father had set him to the task, when the older man had taken off on horse back to try and contact a cell of the Resistance that was operating about an hours ride away. 

He had taken both Raw and Glitch with him, but hadn't asked if she wanted to go. The three males had simply headed out! Deeg had been relieved to see the Viewer leave for a while. She'd been careful to keep her distance from the empath. There were too many feelings she didn't understand and wasn't about to share for her to take a chance around him. He'd looked hurt when he'd reached to give her a hug good-bye and she'd shied away, pretending she hadn't seen his outstretched arms.

And then there was Cain…she didn't want to think about the silly argument they'd had that morning. They'd both snapped for no reason…_Okay_, she admitted to herself. _Maybe he'd had a reason. She'd been poking around in his past._ She knew he was an intensely private person…but…but…at the time. Hell she didn't know what she'd been thinking!

"Jeb, there has got to be something more productive you can be doing." She looked up, at the boy and her glance strayed to the entrance of the room, unaware of how sad her eyes appeared. It was hard to watch the door looking for her Tin Man when his son was right there watching her every move. She wished desperately that he hadn't gone off before they could straighten out the anger that had roared between them.

"Nope, I'm right where I want to be." He sat in a corner a few feet away, keeping watch. He couldn't have been given a better assignment. It was inside out of the shifting whether and only a few feet away from Jenna, since the Princess was helping her change dressings.

"Ahh, so I see." She winked at the attractive young healer's apprentice who was slightly pink cheeked from the boy's close scrutiny.

"Don't encourage him," Jenna huffed. "He's a terrible tease. When I was ten he used to pull my bangs. I'm sure he'd have no qualms about pulling yours."

Jeb snorted. '_Yeah right, if he pulled the Princess's bangs, he wasn't sure who'd deck him first, his dad or the girl he'd wanted ever since he was old enough to realize she wasn't simply a long-haired, soft boy!'_

"How's he doing?" Deeg was using her magic to ease Jenna's patient's pain while bandages were removed, and new ones added. Unlike Raw, she couldn't take away discomfort, but she'd discovered she could mask it. She did it by simply holding the man's hand and focusing her magic. The patient didn't even realize that she was helping.

"You're making my job easy." She smiled gently at the DG. "And he's the last one, so we can take a break soon."

"Good, I don't think I slept all that well last night," DG sighed as she slowly pulled her light inward so her patient wouldn't feel the sudden loss of it. She tried to tell herself that each patient only required a tiny bit of her magic, though she'd lost count of how many people they'd cared for. The amount of power she'd expended was nothing compared to fighting the Witch. To be on the safe side, she pulled her poncho over her head and hugged it close to her body. She was getting cold.

"Hopefully you'll have a better night tonight. I'm gonna see if Old Cora has any spiced cider left. Do you want to come with me?"

The two girls moved back to the cook fire where dinner was being prepared. Jeb followed close behind with one hand on his weapon and a watchful eye in all directions. He didn't miss the way the Princess was careful to sit so she was facing the door. She was missing his old man. The idea warmed at the same time it made him feel creepy.

"Here ya go, ladies." Old Cora handed them each a cup. "Here's one for you too, young Cain. T'won't distract ya none from your duty and will warm your insides a bit. My old bones can feel night comin' on, just like in the old times. In an hour or so it'll be rainin' again." She smiled and took a seat beside DG.

"Cora, what's Cariad mean?" Deeg was looking at the old woman, so she missed the way Jeb and Jenna's eyes caught for a moment before they quickly looked away.

"Why ya askin', Princess?"

"I've never head of it before and last night that young man…the one who died mentioned it." She bit her lip unsure how much more she should say. "And…well…Az was saying something about it today, so I wondered." It was the reason the Royal family hadn't moved from the Tower. Glitch needed to be near the other half of his brain and Azkadellia needed to be near him. It all had to do with Ambrose being Azkadellia's _Cariad_. Deeg hadn't asked her sister because the older girl had begun to cry when she talked about it.

"Well that explains why ya haven't moved on ta Finaqua or Central City." Cora was a shrewd one, almost nothing got past her. "The Legend of Cariad t'is old as the Outer Zone. T'is from when everythin' was new and young. The Old Road t'was paved with bright yellow bricks that sparkled in the suns. The fields of the Papay was filled with magic flowers and Central City shown like an Emerald for all ta see. Glinda the First weren't much older than you. She were a pretty thing, filled with magic and laughter. She were the child 'a the morning rainbows, the first and best 'a the good witches.

Glinda fell in love with a soldier, a common man he were, but she loved him somethin' fierce and the only thing he loved more'n her was his honor. They had three months together 'till he was called up ta protect the boarders 'a the Zone from the Evil Ones. The morning her man left, Glinda ran out inta the rain and waited for the suns ta rise. When they did, she called on the rainbows, ta bind all the bein's in the O.Z., one man to one woman for all eternity. Each pair became _Cariad,_ two separate people, joined at the heart. They'd journey The Old Road together in this life and then would wait, one for the other, ta join forever on the Road that is beyond. This she promised in the name of her parents. It's why them rainbows are always joined at one end or t'other, like the hearts 'a the Cariad.

Her soldier fell in the battle ta keep Evil out. It's said when Glinda died, some sixty years later, he was waitin' for her. Legend has it that if ya look 'tween the two suns just right, they can still be seen at dusk and at dawn, walking the Road. They's there as a reminder that our love, our Cariad, t'ain't lost to us, but waitin', separated for only a short span of time, 'till it's our turn to move on ta the Road beyond."

"Like…ah…soulmates?" DG blinked back tears at the sad old legend.

"Yeah, never heard that term, but it sounds 'bout right. Mates 'a the soul."

"And people believe this?"

"Sure do, most 'a them anyway." Cora nodded and sipped some cider. "'Course every generation has its share 'a non-believers, ones who think all modern and don't believe in the old ways, but like as not, as they get older, they change their minds. It got ta be a real problem when the Queen and the Prince Consort had their fallin' out. Some folk who shouldn't 'a, lost faith. Some bad things happened 'cause 'a that. There's some say it helped the Witch take power. That's why the return 'a the rainbows this mornin' was so important. It reinforced the old ways 'n tells the people Good is once again in power in the Zone."

"But they didn't fall out of love. It was done to protect me."

"Your momma and poppa did what they had ta do to save the Queendom. It were their choice. They knew what they was doin'. Sometimes ya gotta take a bit 'a evil to let the good survive."

"That means…oh my!" DG stuttered to a halt as boots echoed in the hall and voices could be heard on the other side of the entryway.

Cain appeared on the landing. He was wearing his coat and his hat was pulled low over his eyes, but she could feel him scan the room and knew immediately when he'd found her.

She could hear conversation going on behind her, but Deeg had turned toward the fire. She was afraid that everyone would read the sorrow on her face…her Tin Man certainly would and she couldn't allow that. Not now, not after what she'd learned. All day she'd been searching her mind for the correct order of the steps of grieving, trying to figure out how far along Wyatt Cain was. She just learned that in the O.Z. they weren't needed. Here love went on forever.

With a sigh she conceded to a dead woman. _I'm sorry, Adora, I didn't understand._

**TBC**

* * *

**Note on Adora:** I don't mean this chapter to be sad. I want to give Adora the respect the character deserves given what we learned in the Mini and still have DG be Cain's one true love. I don't mean there to be angst, and am sorry if I've caused any. 


	5. Puzzle Pieces

**Rating: **PG-13

**Pairing: **DG/Cain with some AZ/Glitch and Lavender/Alamo mentioned

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter

**Note: **Sorry I couldn't help the small _Labyrinth_ reference. In my world the Underground boarders on the south side of the Outer Zone

**Thanks: **Ana The Romantic used the term Papay fruit when talking about citrus in her story _A Tale of Ages_. She was kind enough to let me borrow it.

**Ch - 5 - Puzzle Pieces**

By _Lattelady_

* * *

_And I'll earn your trust making memories of us_ - Making Memories Of Us by Keith Urban

* * *

Wyatt Cain stood on the landing, five steps above the lowest level of the Tower. Spread out below him was the field hospital that had been hurriedly put together the night before. He pulled the brim of his hat low over his eyes to hide in its shadow, as he looked around. It only took him a moment to find who he was seeking. DG sat by the cook fire with Old Cora, a young dark-haired girl and Jeb, who was keeping a discreet but watchful eye on the Princess. 

For one moment his eyes met Deeg's across the distance of the room, before she turned away to stare into the flame.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. The Kid was still angry at him. He'd have to deal with it later. He'd brought back two representatives of the Resistance cell, he'd gone searching for. They wanted assurances from the Queen, before they'd bring their people in and had asked that he be present for the confrontation.

* * *

It had been a long day and Queen Lavender Eyes was glad it was over. She sat in front of her mirror running a brush through her hair. Her mind was still on the meeting that had just concluded. It had been tense, but productive. 

The fortuitous return of the rainbows that morning had convinced the men she'd met with that the Witch was good and truly gone. Neither man had been happy about Azkadellia remaining free, but Wyatt Cain had spoken in the older Princess's defense. It had been enough to convince the Resistance leaders to ally their people with the Crown's, though they had done so with reservations.

"Let me help, my dear." Ahamo came up behind her and took the brush from her hand. He knew she found it soothing when he brushed her hair. It was an old ritual, one that he'd sorely missed during their annuals apart.

"You help simply by being here." She smiled at his reflection.

"How are you feeling?" He could tell she was exhausted, even though she tried to hide it from him.

"Fine," she kept her voice light in an attempt to keep him from worrying.

"Lav?" his tone was doubtful.

"Oh all right, a bit light headed, but no vertigo." She reassured him.

"You've been using your magic again." He frowned, concern written all over his face. "You have too little at your disposal to access it for anything that isn't absolutely critical."

"This was critical, if we are going to do as we discussed earlier, I needed to alter the appearance of the people in the wanted pictures that the Witch sent out on DG and her Tin Man."

"I'm not comfortable with this idea, we don't know enough about this Cain fellow or if our daughter will even be willing to help." He put down her brush and rested both palms under the collar of her robe so his skin was against hers. In all their time together he'd never understood why his touch helped reduce the dizziness that accompanied the depletion of her power. All he knew was that it did.

"I understand your doubts, but this time I refuse to be caught unprepared." She leaned forward to give him better access to her neck and shoulders. "Hhmmm that helps so much, having you here makes all the difference." His touch held a special magic for her and she'd missed it dearly in their time apart. "You're my Cariad. It helps simply to have you near. The rest of it we can deal with tomorrow."

"Then as your Cariad, I'm ordering you to bed." He was a practical man who'd been born and raised on the Other Side. No one would ever accuse him of being a romantic, but if there was anyone who could make him believe in the idea of soulmates, it was his Lavender Eyes. "You need to sleep." He smiled and helped her up. She was still weak from her imprisonment, but refused to let anyone but him know about it for fear it would undermine confidence in the House of Gale.

The couple slipped into bed, the Queen with her head on the Prince Consort's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Did we do the correct thing all those annuals ago?" She asked as she ran her hand over his chest.

"We did the best we could with the information we had at the time." He too, had doubts, but it was fifteen annuals too late to change anything.

"Maybe if I'd tried harder, if I'd used the Emerald when we first realized something was wrong with Azkadellia, it would have been enough?" It had eaten at her for annuals that she'd been forced to choose between her daughters for the good of the Outer Zone.

"No. Stop that right now, Lav. We've been over this before. At the time, you didn't think your magic, even supplemented by the Emerald, would be enough. We both recognized, early on, that our daughters had a special bond. It not only drew them together, but strengthened their magic tenfold. We knew that once they matured, they would be a force stronger than anything the Zone had ever seen. We counted on that and last night proved us correct!" He refused to let her blame herself for a decision they had made jointly.

"But the cost…"

"Don't think about it. If you had fought the Witch by yourself and failed, the cost would have gone on forever. Now at least it is over."

"Is it?" She looked at her true love with doubt in her eyes. "The Sorceress may be dead, but she's won in so many ways. I'm unsure how long I can hide the fact that I'm too weak to rule. The Emerald chose Azkadellia, but she's in no condition to take the throne. I need to remain strong until she has won back the trust of her people and can forgive herself for what was done in her name."

"I know the legend says that the Emerald decides the Queen, but what if Az can't do it?" In all his annuals in the Outer Zone, he'd never really understood the power legends had over the people. In many cases they were the foundation laws had been written on.

"She must. She's a Gale and so am I. I will do what is needed until she's able." Her unusual eyes shone brightly in the dark.

"DG is a Gale, as well, and her magic is strong, we've seen that." Ahamo was worried about his wife and had doubts she'd survive long if she didn't get help. "Look what she was able to do in just seven short days. She formed an alliance with a Tin Man, a Viewer and Ambrose whose poor brain was so badly scrambled he hardly knew which end was up. Everyone she meets is drawn to her."

"I think in time she would be a good and kind ruler, but she's spent too much time on the Other Side. I worry that the bordering Kingdoms would interpret many of the things she learned there as weaknesses. It would make the Outer Zone ripe for invasion and right now we don't have the resources to protect ourselves." She signed thinking about all her youngest daughter had been through in twenty short annuals.

"No one could think her weak with that Tin Man at her side." Ahamo glared remembering the hard cold man stepping between father and daughter that morning. It had been none of his concern, but that hadn't stopped him

"He could be a problem. The attraction between them is strong but the man has been married before. It makes it highly unlikely that he could be her Cariad and without her True One to support her when she depletes her magic, she will wither and die long before her time." Lavender knew this first hand. Her gray hair and older appearance was only partially due to the Witch. There would have been no lasting effects if she'd had Ahamo's strength to rely on when hers was gone.

"But if we go through with what we've been planning, they will be thrown together more than ever. Is that wise?"

"I don't know." Lav snuggled closer to her husband. "I'm sick and tired of my daughters' happiness having to come in second to what is right and good for the O.Z." She pictures Wyatt Cain as he'd guided DG through the crowd that morning. There had been something about it that had made her feel warm and happy. "I do know that I believe in the Legend of the Rainbow…the Cariad. If they are meant to be together, they will be. If not, I don't believe he will harm her or take advantage of her. He was a Tin Man, you know."

"Which brings us to Azkadellia and this strange Glitch/Ambrose character." Even as the Sorceress rose to power, the Prince had kept the memory of his sweet young children deep in his heart. Now they were grown women with men sniffing around. No sir, he didn't like it one bit "Do you believe he's her One?" he asked.

"My dear, we both believed him seventeen annuals ago when he first approached us." She smiled sweetly at the memory. Her eyes glistened as she remembered her young advisor as he'd been all those annuals ago. How he'd asked permission to court the older Princess when she came of age. "Az was too young to understand the strong bond she had with him. But last night is proof that she became aware of it sometime while the Witch possessed her. He was the only one she really wanted to see and he calmed her hiccups, simply by holding her hand."

"It's just that I worry about you, dear heart." He kissed his wife's forehead.

"I know, but for the moment I must remain in power," she sighed. "We have one daughter who the people within the Zone would trust and follow and another who is feared enough to keep the bordering kingdoms in line long enough for us to get back on our feet economically and politically."

"Could they rule together?"

"The Emerald is the symbol of power of the Queen. It has chosen Azkadellia. To deny its choice would bring even more death and destruction to our lands."

"At least we don't have to worry about being invaded while we figure all this out. The Witch kept the outlying kingdoms in line." It had been a constant worry that the Queendom would be lost in an outside power struggle, before his daughters could mature and their magic become powerful enough to defeat the Witch.

"From the reports I've read, even the strongest among them avoided drawing her attention and her wrath. Jareth, King of the Goblins sealed his boarders and left her alone. If anyone could have brought her down, it would have been him. I find it curious that he ignored a threat that was growing so close to his lands." Lavender had always had a good working relationship with the Underground to the south and a great deal of respect for its ruler.

"Nothing short of an attack on his territories would have brought him into the conflict. A few annuals ago he finally married. Queen Sarah is human." The Prince grinned. "From what I hear he has finally found his True One. He would do anything to protect her."

"And about time too," the Queen laughed. "That is one Fae who I thought would never settle down."

"Gossip has it that she gave him quite a difficult time for nine annuals." He pulled his wife close and together they fell asleep.

* * *

"Princess DG," Jeb whispered. "You need to wake up. You shouldn't be sleeping here." 

She blinked and opened her eyes. She was curled against the high ledge of the hearth at the cooking fire. All around her wounded men and women were sleeping either on cots or bedrolls directly on the floor. Even Old Cora was snoring lightly, a few inches away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stay so long." She stretched and pulled Cora's blanket closer around the old woman to keep her warm. "I was waiting for…" She'd been waiting for Cain, but she couldn't tell that to his son. The boy had looked at her oddly when his father had stood watching them from a distance, but instead of coming to join them, had gone off with the two men he'd brought in. "Uhm…I'm not sure what I'm still doing here."

"C'mon I'll walk you to your room."

"I can do it myself," she argued. "It's late and Jenna is waiting for you." She pointed to where the young healer had made up a double bedroll a few feet away. It was the best excuse DG could give and hoped he bought it. She didn't want to go to the closed off little space Cain had chosen for her the day before. She wished she hadn't given him back the key to the large open room where they'd spent the previous night. It would be a good place for her to hide. But he'd needed to get his things before he'd gone off with Raw and Glitch.

"I can't do that Princess…ah...ah Princess DG." He didn't miss the hurt in her eyes when he used the nickname his father always did.

"All right," she sighed in defeat. "But I want to stop and check on Azkadellia on the way."

A few minutes later DG lightly knocked on her sister's bedroom door.

"Shhhhh," Az warned as she opened the door and slipped into the hall. "He finally fell asleep and I don't want to disturb him." She nodded toward Glitch curled in a large chair beside the bed. "He's been through so much already and I couldn't prevent it."

"It wasn't your fault." Deeg put her arms around her sister and let her cry against her shoulder. Jeb stepped back far enough to give them privacy and situate himself so he would see anyone coming before he was seen.

"It was." Az shook her head, refusing to be consoled. "I'm not sure when I became aware that Ambrose was…well was so important to me, but when I did, I used all the magic that I'd been able to retain to lock the thought deeply away, where She wouldn't see it. I must have grown careless because She found out and did…that to him."

"You love him don't you?" DG's eyes filled with tears at the couple's plight.

"Yes, very much. I think I always have and it doesn't matter if he's Glitch, Ambrose, or some mixture of the two, he's still my Cariad. He watched over me as I slept last night. I'll do the same for him tonight. Now I really must get back." She sniffed delicately and wiped her damp cheeks as she slipped into the room.

DG stood frozen for a moment unable to take her eyes off the closed door. "It's really true then?" she muttered. "That legend that Cora told us, it really is true."

"Yes Ma'am." Jeb took her arm and together they walked down the hall.

"You and Jenna?" her voice cracked as she asked.

"Yup, 'fraid so." Jeb had a silly grin on his face. "But we promised mom we wouldn't…ah…ah wed 'till we were both eighteen." He was flushed and embarrassed. There had been more to the promise, but he was damned if he'd talk about it to anyone.

"How did you know?" DG couldn't take her eyes off her fingers, as she placed her key in the lock. "How did you know that Jenna was the one?"

"I'm not sure." He shrugged his shoulders. "I just knew it, is all. Mom and I took her in about the time Jenna and I turned ten, so she was always there. We were best friends and then it just seemed to grow."

"Best friends?" The Princess's brows rose and she giggled, "Even when you pulled her bangs?"

"Yeah even then." He smiled fondly at the memory. "I could tease her, but I busted more than one kid in the chops when they tried it. I think that's when mom caught on. It wasn't long after that she sat me down and had a long talk about the legends and being very sure. I get the feeling Jenna knew long before I did."

"I wish you all the happiness." Deeg could feel her eyes begin to fill with tears so she quickly unlocked her door and stepped through. "You deserve it after all you've been though. Look on the bright side, since you waited, your dad will be able to be there when you do marry. Now I really have to say good night. Thanks for all the help today," her words were slurred and run together in her an effort to say all she needed to say and not break down crying in the process.

"Princess DG…" he called out as she was about to close the door between them. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her what he knew and what he suspected.

"Yes, Jeb." She met his eyes even as hers overflowed.

But in the end he couldn't. "Good night, be sure and lock the door," he sighed. His better judgment kept him from speaking. She needed to hear the truth from his father, whatever the hell the truth was. He only knew his mother's side of it and a lot of that was speculation.

She leaned against her door. Her eyes were closed and tears seeped between her lashes and ran down her face. She had to get herself together before looking around the too small room she was going to try and sleep in. Somehow she'd managed to screw up her life in a matter of seven short days, and now she had to deal with the consequences. But tomorrow was soon enough to do that. Tomorrow, she'd send Cain away. It was the only thing she could do, but for now she had to make it through the night.

Carefully she dug deep inside of her and found the light she'd been calling on all day. She knew she didn't have the energy to make a real window, but maybe a fake one would be enough. In the back of her mind she heard Toto telling her to focus and that's what she did.

The feel of a cool light breeze on her face caused her to open her eyes and sure enough, most of the wall across from her contained a large open window with curtains blowing gently inward. From a distance she could see the frame was smudged and mixed with stone in places. What she'd created was definitely a figment of her imagination, but for the time being it was enough.

She quickly changed into the set of washed out green long underwear Jenna had loaned her for sleeping. They were comfortable and reminded her of the ones she'd worn the few times she'd gone snowboarding.

* * *

Wyatt Cain stared into the red hot coals in the fireplace of the Tower room. The rains had come again and it was damp, but not cold. It was the first time since he'd been removed from the tin suit that he was alone. In a way it was the first time he was alone in eight annual. The memory loop he'd been forced to watch had frozen him in time, crowding a nightmare version of the Longcoats, Jeb and Adora into the suit with him. 

He laid back on his bedroll with his hands beneath his head, luxuriating in the freedom to move; the feel of clean air as the breeze blew in from the balcony; and the scent of Papay fruit that lingered on the bedding. He buried his nose in the blanket and a clear picture of his Princess popped into his head. He remembered breathing in the tangy scent from her hair the night before, as he held her. A small smile curved at the corner of his lips at the memory and for one moment he wished that she was there beside him again.

What the hell was happening to him? He was never the type to moon over a woman. But that was exactly what he was doing. No matter how often he tried to tell himself that she was just a kid, only three annuals older than his son, he remembered the feel of her in his arms as she slept. The body that had been clasped tightly against his had definitely belonged to a woman. It was one of the many confusing reasons he'd been avoiding her all day.

He forced himself to look at the problem with his usual calm logic. He was a practical man who'd always believed that he alone had control of his life, not the gods, or legends, but him, Wyatt Cain. Zero had shot that theory all to hell eight annuals ago. Then his Princess had given it another good spin on its axis in the days that followed her freeing him from the metal suit. Everytime he'd tried to take back his life, she'd looked at him with her huge blue eyes, needing his help or trying to convince him to do something foolhardy. Each time he'd thrown his better judgment on down the road and acquiesced.

Now here he was, thirty-eight annuals old, with a deep longing for a woman who was young enough to be his daughter and a princess to boot. When the hell had it all gone sideways?

"Adora," Cain whispered. "Were we so wrong? Did we fuck up our lives by getting married too soon? Damnit all, we loved each other, I know we did!" He remembered the honey blonde that'd been his friend since childhood and how they'd defied convention. The priests wouldn't marry them, so they'd eloped and had a civil ceremony in Central City. He'd been in his second year at the Tin Man Academy. They'd been happy damnit, but had they missed something by choosing each other, instead of waiting?

That thought took him down a whole new convoluted road. If he hadn't married Adora, there would be no Jeb. The thought was unthinkable, even given the way the boy had been forced to spend the last eight annuals. It was too much. How was a man supposed to second guess his past and stay sane?

* * *

DG woke screaming. She was cold and the walls felt like they were closing-in, taking all the air with them. She looked for the false window she'd created, but it was gone. Her magic had lacked the strength to sustain it while she slept. She took huge gasping breaths and ran for the door, hoping against hope that that no one had heard her. 

"I can do it, I can do it," she chanted to herself, as she ran up the stairs at the end of the hall. Her steps faltered when the staircase became smaller, more cramped and nothing but tight turns. "I can do this!" She imagined the room from last night to calm her mind as she reached for her light deep inside her. If the door was locked she'd have to use her magic to get it open. There was no way she was going back down to wake Cora for the key.

On the small landing she pointed her finger and rotated it, with just the right amount of body English to flip the bolt on the other side. She'd hardly crossed the threshold when she heard the click of a safety being snapped off a weapon and saw firelight dancing off the metal of a drawn pistol aimed at her head.

"No, don't shoot," she gasped as she hit the ground like Cain had taught her.

"Princess?" He left his gun by his bedroll and knelt beside her.

"Tin Man," she whispered. "What are you doing…I didn't know you were…Thank God!" She gave up trying to make sense out of finding him here and threw her arms around his neck, never so happy to see anyone in her life.

He held her tightly, a million thoughts rushing through his head. Less than an hour earlier he'd wished she was in his arms, but not this way, not when she was fragile and broken. "What is it, cold or claustrophobia?" He could feel her shivering against him, and her eyes had a haunted expression that reminded him of when they'd discovered the cave at Finaqua. He hated this Tower, with its small rooms and reminders of evil. It was tearing her apart.

"Both I think. I woke-up and the window was gone," her voice was husky as she burrowed deeper into his arms.

"What window? Where the hell have you been?" He felt his gut tightening and knew fear wasn't far behind. He'd thought she was safe. "Jeb was supposed to be taking care of you."

"He was. He did. He never let me out of his sight until I was in my room." She shivered again and held onto him tightly. "I made a window in there, not a real one, just a projection, so I could sleep. God, Cain, when did I turn into such a wuss?"

"A _wuss_?" He cupped her cheek and raised her face.

"Yeah, weak and ineffectual," she sniffed as she leaned against him. "This isn't me! I want me back!"

"You're not either of those things." He tried to console her. He understood exactly what she was talking about. He wasn't the man he used to be either.

"Oh yes I am." She rolled her eyes and wiped her damp cheeks on his shirt.

"Says the kid who faced down the Witch to save her sister." He thought she was one of the bravest people he knew.

"Says the woman who can't seem to catch her breath or stay warm," she countered and gripped him tighter refusing to examine too closely why he made her feel better merely by holding her.

"That's something we can take care of right now," Cain murmured and ran his hand along her side to calm her."Take deep even breaths and feel the air all around you." When she was doing as he told her, he picked her up. "It's better by the fire." He carried her to his bedroll and sat her in front of the hot coals, wrapped in blankets, before he headed for the door. "You're staying here tonight."

"Wait, don't go…I mean…this is your room…I can't take it away from you."

"I wasn't planning on leaving you alone." He shook his head at the odd things she could think of, as he turned the bolt to lock the door. "This place is too open for that, too exposed on that side." He pointed to the open area and balcony beyond where a wall should be.

"Yeah and it's what? Twelve stories up?" She wasn't sure why she was arguing with him, when she was so glad for his presence, but she couldn't stop. "Some ninja-type is gonna scale that well guarded-wall to get at the princess who everyone thinks is sleeping in a room on the same floor as the rest of her family?"

"Don't give me any lip, Kid." He'd heard her use the expression and wasn't exactly sure what it meant, but from the way she looked at him, he'd used it correctly. Pleased with his first foray into Other Side slang, he sat behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist to pull her against him while he ran his palm slowly up and down her arm. "That any better?"

"It helps, thanks." She rested her head against his neck and together they watched the fire. "I'm sorry about this morning. I didn't have any right to ask Jeb the questions I did. Please don't be angry with me any longer."

"I'm not. I wasn't angry at you. You were handy and I yelled." Maybe it was because he was too tired, or having her there dropped some internal wall he'd carefully built, but he saw actions and decisions from eight annuals ago unfolding as if they were yesterday. "Part of it was that if I had it to do all over again, I'm not sure I could change any of it. What guarantee do we have that just because we do something differently, the outcome will be better? What if I'd…I don't know…" He was lost. How far back did a man go in his life to second guess himself?

DG looked up and knew without being told that Cain was somewhere deep in his past. She turned toward him and slipped her arms around him to give any comfort she could. Whatever demons he was revisiting needed exorcising and she was determined to support him in the process.

"When the Witch came to full power…it was only a matter of time until any honest Tin Man was driven out." He rested his chin on the top of her head and breathed in the fresh spicy scent of Papay fruit. "I stayed in Central City longer than most…" his words stopped as he wondered if that was the turning point for him. Could he have remained true to who he was and run?

"I…I…was helping folk get out, passing them along to the resistance." As he spoke in fits and starts she reached up and massaged the tense muscles of his neck, letting him know she was there by her touch. "Finally it became too dangerous. I had to get my family out…We…we went to the cabin. I'd grown up there, but we hadn't been back in annuals…we'd been city folk since we ran away together…" He knew he was holding onto his Princess and she was the only thing that was keeping him anchored in the present. If he let go and slid too far into the past, he wasn't sure he'd find the road out again.

"We thought we were safe…I thought we were safe…until the morning the Longcoats rode in." His body convulsed at the memory. "I made Adora promise, that no matter what they did to me or her, that she'd survive to take care of Jeb. I thought…I hoped…that it would only be me that they were after." His hand had slipped beneath Deeg's blanket and under the back of her shirt. Her skin was soft and silky under his callused fingers. "I thought Zero had killed them both by the time they dragged me over to the…the…" He shuddered, and buried his face against DG's neck.

She caught her breath when she realized where his hand was. He warmed her, soothed her and made her feel safe in the midst of his own private hell. It tore her apart to know she was taking from him when she should be giving. She was the one who had set the Witch free! It was her fault his family was ripped from him. All she could do was hold on tighter and not let him fall. This was the comfort she'd wanted to give at Adora's grave, but he'd refused, only allowing her to touch his shoulder.

"It's all right, I've got you. It's all in the past, just a memory," she crooned softly over and over again, but she wasn't sure any of it was getting through. She dipped her hand under the back collar of his shirt and massaged the long muscles leading to his neck. She felt him move; pressing into her fingers and knew that he was aware of her touch.

Cain took deep even breaths, making himself go on. He had to face it all to win back any of what he'd lost and be worthy to take on the future he wanted. "Zero had brought…he'd planned all along to stick me in…that thing…that metal prison. My family was on the ground bleeding. Then all I saw for eight annuals were the attacks and beatings, over and over again…"

"I've got you and I'm not letting go," she whispered. So much for her plan to send him on his way in the morning, it appeared that as much as she needed him, for the moment, he needed her as well. Time drifted as they clung together by the fire. She knew tears were running down her face to his neck, making it wet and slippery, but she was beyond caring.

Slowly he began to pull back. First he slid her shirt back into place and then he covered her completely with the blanket. When he raised his head, he ran a finger over her wet cheeks. "Are you crying for me Princess?" he was puzzled and confused. But the feel of her tears had a healing effect on his pain and guilt.

"Someone has to. Someone has to cry for all the souls lost or hurt in the last fifteen annuals, who better than me?" She shrugged too exhausted to move from the comfortable warm spot in his arms.

He was at a loss for words. He read guilt in her eyes, but there was nothing he could say that would help, not tonight anyway. But he had a few ideas about tomorrow. He was damned if she'd be forced to spend another night in this hellish Tower!

"You ready for sleep, Deeg," he whispered. When she didn't respond with anything but deep even breaths he sighed, "I'll take that for a yes."

The Tin Man laid back and felt the calming peace of his Princess's body curled against his. Moments later they were both sound asleep.

* * *

Wyatt Cain knocked on the chamber door where the Queen and Prince Consort were staying. It was early. He'd left DG with Jeb and the young girl Jenna, who he'd discovered, was his son's girl friend. He added having a talk with the boy, to the long list of things he needed to do. He was damned if he'd let his kid make the same mistakes he'd made! But right now, here he was, a washed up old Tin Man, barging in on the Royal couple.

"Ahhh, Mr. Cain, what can we do for you?" The Prince answered the door.

"I need to speak with you and the Queen about Princess DG." He had an urge to pull the brim of his hat over his eyes, but he wasn't wearing it. He wasn't a court gentleman, but he hadn't been born in a barn. He was smart enough to know that hats weren't worn indoors, unless the environment or his attitude dictated it.

"I gather it's important, to bring you here so early?" Ahamo's brows rose in question.

"Very!" He curled his thumbs in his holster and looked the older man in the eyes.

"Then come in, by all means." He ushered the Tin Man in.

The Queen and Azkadellia were sitting at a small table eating breakfast. Both looked tired and it took him by surprise. These were two women he'd always thought of as being indestructible, though he'd wished for the older Princess's destruction for a very long time. If he hadn't already known the truth about her, seeing her as she was today, showed him once and for all how unjustly she'd been treated. Az's hair and coloring were the same as the Sorceress's, but the expression on her face and her body language were as different from the Witch's as night and day.

"Would you like some spiced cider, Mr. Cain?" the Queen offered as she reached for a cup and the handle of the cider pot.

"Thank you, I'd appreciate it, Your Majesty."

After they'd all moved to large over-stuffed chairs around the fire, each with a cup of Old Cora's cider, the Queen looked at him with a polite smile. "What is the concern you have for our daughter?"

"I want to take her to Finaqua or anywhere but here! This Tower is…" he stopped what he'd been about to say. He handled politics best with a drawn weapon and flying bullets, but then this wasn't his normal kind of politics. "The Princess isn't doing well here."

"But we must remain," Az spoke for the first time. Her fingers gripped her cup and her eyes were alive with emotion. "We can't leave. This is where part of Ambrose's brain is housed. We have to stay until the healers and alchemists can restore him. I will not leave him!"

"My dear, it's all right," her father assured her. "No one is suggesting that you do."

"I'm sorry Princess Azkadellia I didn't mean to distress you." Cain reached over and gently loosened her grip on the porcelain holding her cider. Their eyes met for a moment and both knew that she'd been about to shatter the delicate container. "You needn't worry. I'd never wish any harm to my friend Glitch, but Deeg—the Princess is having problems that would best be dealt with somewhere else."

"We need more details." Lavender's words were more than a request, but less than an order. She had plans of her own for Cain and DG, but her daughter's safety came first.

"To be blunt, Your Highness, she has claustrophobia and the small windowless rooms in this place are taxing her strength and her magic."

"Claustrophobia, that's ridiculous. My youngest was never afraid of a thing in her life." The Prince stood and took his place behind the Queen with his hands on her shoulders, giving her support through his touch.

"It's not ridiculous, father," The older princess's breath hitched in her throat as she tried to speak. "I…the Witch…locked her in the tomb to kill her. She had almost no air." Az looked up into Wyatt Cain's eyes, as tears filled hers. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She covered her face with her hands and turned away.

"Princess Azkadellia," Cain knelt by her side and laid his hand on her shaking shoulder. "It's I who am sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up in front of you."

His kind words made her look up and she recognized him from before the night of the eclipse. "You took care of my sister didn't you?"

"I did what I could." He shrugged. "The Princess can be…ah…strong willed when she chooses to be."

"You were there with her at the Northern Island?"

"I didn't do her a damn bit of good that time. I was too busy trying to settle an old score." He shook his head remembering Zero.

"But you're here for her now?" She gripped his hand as if the question was the most important in her life.

"Yes, Ma'am, I am." He looked at the fragile girl who had wrapped her fingers around his palm and saw bits and pieces of steel filtering through. Her concern for her sister far out weighed the pain and guilt she was feeling.

"Good, because I can see from your eyes that there's more you have to tell us." She released him. Her hand shook slightly, but she was able to pick up her cup of cider and drink daintily. "And mother, we need to listen to him."

He stood and paced, unable to keep still any longer, worried what he should tell DG's parents about where she'd spent the last two nights, but knowing they needed to realize what she'd been going through. "I don't understand how her magic is tied into all of this beyond what little she's told me. She said the night she fought the Witch, she depleted it." He was trying to tie the threads together as he talked. "She was freezing. I didn't think I'd ever get her warm. Nothing seemed to work, not food, hot liquids or even piles of blankets. Finally I just held on to her, and let her absorb what warmth she could from me."

"And that worked?" Lavender watched him carefully. There was no censure in her eyes, but something else, something he couldn't read.

"Yes, Your Highness, it did." He didn't miss the quick glance that passed between the Queen and the Prince and it made him nervous, but he had to finish what he'd started. "She used magic in the hospital yesterday to help with the wounded."

"That is as it should be." She smiled proudly. Her daughter was doing what she could to help her people.

"Then she put some sort of window in her bedroom last night," Cain continued. "The room was too small. She hadn't been able to sleep there the night before and though she insisted she was doing better yesterday, she wasn't," he sighed in frustration. If he hadn't kept his distance from her, he would have known she was in distress. "Anyway, she woke up terrified and cold, unable to sustain the spell in her sleep. I know she's strong, I've watched her for seven days! I think she must be unconsciously using her power to combat the claustrophobia. There's no other explanation for her being so drained last night. I have to get her out of here!"

"So you've, in essence, slept with our daughter for the last two nights?" Lavender calmly watched as his cheeks flushed. "It's all right, Mr. Cain, I don't believe for a moment you'd do anything to harm her."

"That would be correct, on both counts." He was a brave man, but he didn't have the nerve to look at the Prince. He knew exactly what that man was thinking. He was a father, too. A tiny giggle escaped Azkadellia before she could clamp her hand over her mouth. It caught him by surprise and broke the tension in the room.

"I do believe you're correct. We need to move DG to a place with more open surroundings, though we've been working on a better idea than Finaqua." She looked at her husband and they nodded. They had laid the groundwork the night before, unsure if they would go ahead with it. Now they were sure.

"I'll get the map, dear." Alamo squeezed her shoulder and went to a large desk in the corner of the room. "Here we are." He spread it out on the low table between the chairs.

"As we discovered in the meeting yesterday, with the Resistance leaders you brought in, we know there are three more camps operating out of the foothills of the Black Mountains." The Queen pointed to the areas in question. "They are out of touch with what is going on. To be quite frank, we need all the help we can get. If there is going to be a power struggle with the remaining Longcoats, I want these men coming in on the side of the Crown." She took a careful sip of her cider and then met Cain's eyes.

"I'm not sure what I can do to help. I've been out of the picture for eight annuals." He was getting a bad feeling about this. They were going to send him away to protect their daughter's reputation and he couldn't very well blame them. But something in his gut twisted at the thought of leaving her alone and unprotected. "And no one has ever mistaken me for a diplomat." He tried one last time.

"No, I don't suppose they have, but you've got the necessary qualities to guard the ambassador I wish to send." She smiled gently because she read worry and determination not to be separated from DG in his clear blue eyes. Yes indeed he was the man for the job. "I propose to send my youngest daughter as my representative. It would solve a number of problems at once. It would get her out this place while we see to Glitch." She chuckled at Ambrose's new name. She really did like this new side to his personality and hoped he wouldn't lose it once reunited with the rest of his brain. "And it would give her time to work through the changes in her life without having to do it with people constantly in attendance."

"The Kid…the Princess isn't exactly subtle when she sets her mind to something. Are you sure she's who you want to send?"

For the first time in fifteen annuals Az felt real laughter bubbling up in her and gave vent to it. "Oh Mr. Cain, I see you do know my sister well. It's good to know that despite all the changes and the annuals she spent on the Other Side she hadn't lost one of her most endearing qualities."

"Princess Azkadellia, it's only endearing if you're not the one trying to stop her from doing something that she feel is necessary!" His brow rose and he would have glared at her, if the sight of seeing her reduced to giggles hadn't made him realize just how much she looked like his Princess.

"Are you willing to take on the job?" The Prince Consort cut in.

"I'd have to know that it could be done safely." Cain's mind worked through the logistics of what would be needed to get them ready. "It would take us weeks on horseback. That would be the best way to travel once we hit the mountains. How many men are you planning as an escort?"

"We had thought it would be just two of you." Alamo held out his hand to forestall the eruption he could read on the other man's face. "The Queen took the precaution of making alterations to the wanted posters that are out there on both of you. That should take a lot of the pressure off. Two people can make better time. More importantly, a couple traveling alone can be far more discreet than a troop of men. It would be foolish to assume that you could make the whole trip unnoticed, this way all they'll see are homesteaders heading out to make a new life for themselves after the destruction of the Witch."

"It might work." Cain nodded as he ran the odds in his head. "All right, but I have some conditions. For the Princess's safety, they're non-negotiable. First, what we've discussed here isn't to go any farther than this room." He ticked them off on his fingers as he spoke. "Second, no one, not even the people in this room, will know our route. If anyone asks, we've gone to Finaqua. Third, we need to get her some other clothes. Her Other Side things are practical, but they'll give her away the second she's seen. Last of all, I'm not the one who's gonna have to tell her that she's got to wear something else!"

"I'm uncomfortable not knowing your route." Ahamo frowned. "How will we contact you if we need to?"

"Once we leave here, there shouldn't be any formal contact with the Palace. The Princess will have to tell the leaders of the Resistance groups who she is, but the fewer people who know the better."

* * *

Two hours later DG was in her sister's room packing a small bag when Cain knocked on the door.

"Princess Azkadellia." He nodded when the older girl answered. "Is she about ready?

"Yes, but she isn't happy." Az looked over her shoulder at her sister.

"Hey, Princess," the Tin Man's voice lightened and his face lit up when he saw her fussing with her clothes. He had his coat over his arm and hat in hand.

"I can't believe this outfit." She rolled her eyes as she caught sight of him watching her. He'd gotten his own shirt back and his vest was buttoned up tight. He looked like her Tin Man again.

"It looks sturdy enough for the trip." He shrugged and gave her a closer inspection. "Doesn't it fit?"

"Yes it does." She'd seen Az roll her eyes when he'd mentioned sturdy, but that wasn't her complaint. She'd trekked through the O.Z and knew the value of clothes that didn't fall apart easily. "It's an old one of Jenna's. She was the best to loan it to me, but it's a skirt!" Deeg stood with her arms folded and her feet apart.

"It's a split skirt, not all that different from those _things_ you like to wear," her sister offered. "It's wider in the legs but it's nicely tapered over your hips. I never realized how slim you were."

"That's not the point! It's long!" DG glared at the hem that ended halfway between her knees and her ankles.

"That's for protection when riding through heavy brush. It needs to cover the tops of your boots." Cain frowned as his mind quickly moved to a place he doubted it should be. "How short are the skirts you're used to wearing?" Ice blue eyes glared at her in the mirror. He had an idea he wasn't going to like the answer.

"They come to about to here." She indicated the middle of her thigh.

"How the hell do you ride in a get-up like that?" There was a strange buzzing going on inside his head as he pictured the length of his Princess's legs exposed.

"We don't. We wear pants!"

"There wasn't time to have a wardrobe made for you. The whole idea was to get you out of here." This was exactly why he hadn't wanted to be the one to tell her that she couldn't wear her Other Side clothes, but somehow he'd gotten drawn in anyway.

"I know. I know, I'm sorry," she sighed softly. "I really appreciate what you're doing for me. The clothes are fine." She ran her hand over the side of her skirt. It was dark brown and made of that odd material like his duster, some combination of leather and oiled canvas.

"I stopped by to be sure the boots fit." He'd had a hard time finding riding boots in her size that were fit to wear.

"They're great, soft and comfortable, I was worried when I fist saw them that the heel would be too high, but it's not." She inspected herself one more time in the mirror. Jenna had been a godsend when it came to clothes. The borrowed light blue shirt was hers as well.

"I've…ah got one other thing for you." He stepped very close and opened his left hand. On his palm sat two gold wedding bands.

"I can't," she gasped. "My God, Cain, you're not wearing your ring. Where is it?" Her eyes filled with tears. She was so used to seeing the flash of silver on his left third finger that it looked naked without it. He was giving up so much to help her.

"Deeg," he whispered and cupped her face with his right hand. "It was only a ring. My marriage to Adora ended the day Zero put me in that suit."

"I'm so sorry you're having to do this."

"It was time I took it off." He looked her in the eyes and remembered the way she'd held him the night before when he'd fallen to pieces. He'd seen the truth then, even clearer than he had when he'd overheard her talking to Jeb. She was his future. He just had to be careful not to rush her.

"You should wear your own."

"It's been put away. Besides, couples in the O.Z. wear a matched set. Now give me your hand."

"I'll do it, Cain," she tried to sound plucky and light as she grabbed the smaller ring from his hand and slid it on her finger. Part of her wanted him to do it for her, but the simple act of wearing it made her enough of a hypocrite. She couldn't look herself in the mirror if she took it a step further.

"If we're supposed to be married you need to start calling me Wyatt."

"I like Tin Man," she whispered and couldn't look away from his hypnotic eyes.

"I've noticed and am rather partial to it when you call me that." His smile was warm and intimate, just for her. "But since I can't be calling you Princess if we're to keep our cover in tact, it's hardly fair."

"Well I wouldn't want to have an unfair advantage…Wyatt," his name felt strange on her tongue. She knew that in her head, he would always be her Tin Man.

"Are you about ready?" He was still standing very close and watching her carefully.

"Just give us another moment, Mr. Cain." Azkadellia spoke up for the first time since the rings had appeared. The other two had forgotten she was even in the room. "You go on ahead." She practically shoved the man out the door. "We just have one little matter to take care of."

When the door closed DG leaned against the wall with her hands over her eyes. "Oh Az, I should have sent him away like I was planning!" She bent over in physical pain.

"Deeg, why would you want to send him away, you're in love with him." She wrapped her arms around her sister.

"No…no…I can't be!" Deeg looked around frantically. "It's only a little crush and it'll go away. It has to."

"Honey, what you're feeling is not going to go away." Az knew that she was missing something and planned to dig until she found out what it was. "Why would you want it to? The man's in love with you too."

"No, he's not." She pulled back from her older sister. "We're friends…close friends, but that's all it can be."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because of Adora. God her name even says it all…Adora, one who is adored." She bit her lip refusing to lose control. "Besides, there are all those legends about Glinda and rainbows and people who love forever. Here in the O.Z it really means forever!"

That stopped Azkadellia in her tracks. How could she argue with that? Glitch, with only half of his brain, still loved her even after she'd been possessed by the Witch for fifteen annuals. "Wait, we're missing something." But she couldn't remember what it was. She'd only been thirteen when everything went weird for her.

"Az, have you ever seen a Tin Man cry? Have you ever known of one who did?" DG slumped against the door and brought out her final argument.

"No, it's not in their nature."

"Well I have. I think that pretty much ends the discussion." She grabbed her bag and the coat that Jenna had leant her and headed for the door with her sister following dejectedly behind.

"I still think you're wrong, Deeg and you've got the next few weeks to find out."

"I love you, sis." DG hugged the taller woman glad for her support.

"I love you too. Use your time wisely."

* * *

"Hey there Dollface and Azzy, my very special doll," Glitch greeted both princesses as they entered the courtyard where two horses were saddled. Cain was busy putting the last of the supplies on a third. "I'll be a whole new me when ya get back from Finaqua." He grinned at Deeg as he put his arm around Azkadellia. 

"Give me a hug Zipperhead." She gathered him close. When she saw Raw approaching she whispered quickly, "Help me up on the horse will you, Glitch?"

"DG do better in open air." Raw stood with his arms open wide; expecting the next hug, but the young princess turned her back and placed her foot in Glitch's hands.

"Princess Azkadellia," Cain called her over to where he was finishing with the pack horse. "What's wrong with Deeg, why is she refusing to let Raw touch her? Those two hugged half way across the Zone last time."

She looked from the cool blue eyes of the man in front of her to her younger sister. She wouldn't betray any confidences even if she thought it would help. "You need to ask her that. But Mr. Cain, be sure you want to hear her answers before you do. Be very sure. If you hurt her, you'll answer to me. Remember that I watched for fifteen annuals while the Witch dealt with those who displeased her."

"Yes Ma'am." He smirked and pulled his hat lower down over his face. It was nice to know that he wasn't the only one who was protective of his Princess. "I won't let anything hurt her."

"I know." Her eyes grew damp and she folded her arms across her chest. "She loves me despite what I did to her. She and Glitch both do…and if…well when they try to put his brain back, if something happens to him I don't know what I'll do."

"You survived the Witch, you can survive anything." He smiled gently.

"You would know." Her eyes met his in complete understanding.

"Be sure to take care of yourself Princess Azkadellia." He looked over to where DG and Raw were deep in conversation. "She has no wish to be Queen."

"You'd protect her from that too, if you had to." She smiled softly realizing that this man would probably die before hurting her sister.

"Well…" He shrugged, knowing there was no tactful way to answer her question.

"I'll make you a deal. I'll take care of myself, if you promise to do the same." She was convinced that it would break her sister's heart if anything happened to this strange quiet man.

"You have yourself a deal." He smirked and shook her hand.

The Viewer stood beside DG's horse waiting for her to look down, when she didn't, he grabbed her reins to get her attention. He whispered, "Raw no need to touch to know what those he loves feel."

"Please," she begged her eyes wide as she glanced toward her sister and Cain shaking hands.

"Azzy love you, will not tell." He frowned wanting to reach for the girl, but knew she'd only pull back. "I keep your secrets and his too, but sister right. Use time wisely and what is broken will be mended."

Five minutes later Cain had mounted up and they headed out, taking the road to Finaqua. Later when they were well on their way and he was sure that they weren't being followed he turned them east.

All the while DG couldn't get Azkadellia's advice out of her head. She and her Tin Man…Wyatt she corrected in her mind, had a long way to travel, but sometime before they returned she was determined to have some answers.

**TBC**


	6. Falling Into Place

9

**Rating: **PG-13

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter

**Notes:** This is shorter than usual. It's a bit of a look into Cain's head and where he is in this story.

**Ch – 6 Falling Into Place**

By _Lattelady_

* * *

_We'll follow the rainbow_

_Wherever the four winds blow_ – Making Memories Of Us – by Keith Urban

* * *

Cain kept their first day on the trail short. They'd left the Tower before lunch. If he'd been alone, he would have traveled until the night rains forced him to seek shelter, but DG wasn't used to riding long distances on horseback. She hadn't complained, but he could tell she was having problems. He was glad he'd planned to take the first few days slowly. 

"We'll camp here." The cave was from the time before... He shook his head not wanting to think about the deep wide crack eight annuals in a metal suit created in his life. Things changed and so did he. He was lucky to recognize the place. It was one of the many stops on the _Underground Roadway_. They'd usedit forgetting enemies of the Sorceress to the Resistance. Since he'd been mainly based in Central City, he hadn't been there often.

DG didn't say a word as she pried herself out of the saddle. Once her feet were on the ground she kept her hands wrapped around the horn, giving herself time, until she was sure her knees wouldn't buckle.

"You okay, Kiddo?" He came up behind her and put one hand on each side of her waist to keep her steady.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit stiff." She was glad he was there, but hadn't wanted to ask for help. "I was careful to stretch as we rode. I didn't want to end up falling off into your arms like the last time." She tried to keep it light, but it was hard when his duster brushed against her back.

"I didn't mind it in the least," he teased. "Princess," something about the way he added her nickname and the way his hands tightened around her, made her look over her shoulder. His usually cool eyes met her sapphire ones and held them.

They both remembered the frantic ride from the Gray Gale, with her on the saddle in front of him. Cain had locked one arm around her waist to keep her pressed against his body. At the time he'd told himself he'd held her that way for her protection, but he'd known it was more than that. He'd been terrified that they wouldn't get to her in time. Holding her had been as much about settling his nerves as hers. He'd been so damn glad to see her alive and unharmed. Nothing else had mattered.

She licked her lips and finally pulled her gaze away from his. "It was your own fault you know." She'd been surprised when they'd arrived at the rendezvous spot with the Resistance and he'd dismounted quickly. "It caught me off guard. You were keeping me secure while we rode and then you were gone."

"Well, I'm…ah…here now..." He put an arm around her shoulders and held the reins of their horses tightly in his other hand. "Are you ready to help me make camp?"

Whatever had passed between them was gone. It left them both slightly shaken and glad there was work that needed to be done to keep their minds and hands busy.

* * *

The cave was deep, but after a quick check in the back to be sure it was safe, they set-up toward the entrance. The horses were hobbled further in. Cain had built a small fire to keep the cooling night air at bay. Just as he'd predicted, the moment the last sun set, the rains began again. DG was very glad they were under cover. 

"What's so interesting about my map?" He looked over her shoulder. By tacit agreement they'd placed their bedrolls close, but not touching. Dinner was finished and they were sharing one last cup of spiced cider. Cain had a strong feeling that he'd never be able to drink Cora's special brew without thinking of his Princess.

"If I'm reading this correctly, we're going to pass close to Mill Town." She handed him the cup without looking.

"Mill Town isn't on our itinerary." He could tell what she was thinking; just by the way she gripped the paper. It was something she was going to have to face sooner or later, but he didn't think now was the time. "I've kept the pace slow for a reason, but that doesn't mean we have time for side trips. We have a job to do."

"I know that." She turned and looked him in the eyes. She needed him to understand how important this was to her. "I'm not suggesting we go now, but sometime, before we head back, I want to stop there."

"Deeg, it's not a good idea." He knew that whatever they discovered there was going to be hard on her.

"We never found them in the Tower." Her voice was breathy and sad when she thought about the beings that had raised her. "I asked Old Cora to check for me. If anyone could find them she could. Emily and Hank may not be my real parents, but that's how I feel about them." She turned away. Her emotions were too close to the surface to have anyone see them, even him.

"Did you talk to your sister?" He handed her back the cider and watched her take a small sip before she answered.

"No, I couldn't. I won't add to Az's guilt even for them." She thought about the life she'd had in Kansas. They'd been good parents even if they'd only been programmed to love her. No wonder she'd never felt at home there, everything had been based on a lie.

"I guess I can understand that." There was a lot he wanted to ask Jeb, but he'd refrained for fear of causing the boy pain. He could hardly fault DG for taking the same approach with Azkadellia.

"Please, Tin Man," she whispered. "You had your chance to say good-bye, let me have mine."

"All right, Deeg," he sighed. Cain knew from personal experience that not knowing was worse than anything she might discover. She'd been there for him, allowed him to take the time he'd needed. He would do the same for her. "We'll do it on our way back."

"Thanks." She smiled, but it never made it to her eyes. "How far will we get tomorrow?"

"A lot of that will depend on how well you hold up in the saddle." He smirked; glad to move on to a lighter topic. "Before we start out, I want to take some time and give you a few lessons with this." He pulled a smaller version of his gun out of his bag.

"You want to me to learn how to shoot?" Her brows rose as she reached for the shiny weapon.

"Not really, but it seems wise under the circumstances." It was something he wished there had been time to take care of before they left, but his one thought had been getting her out of that Tower.

"Well…ah…Dad…ah…Hank had a shotgun to keep the crows out of the fields and I've used that a time or two, but he wasn't happy about it."

"I can understand why. You're a Princess. You should have guards to do the shooting for you."

"I've got one, the very best, in fact." She smiled at him and this time her eyes lit up.

His response was to grunt and shank his head in doubt. "You want the last of the cider." He offered her the container.

"We'll share." She wrapped her hands around his on the cup and took one small sip. "Okay, the rest it yours."

He took the last swallow and rinsed the cup before turning back to her with the small weapon in his hand. "If we go over some of the basics tonight, it'll save time in the morning. Sit so you're facing me while I show you this thing."

"Ahh the man with the plan, it's one of your better qualities," she teased and scooted over until she was sitting Indian-style with their knees touching.

"Here's the safety. It stays locked in place unless you're firing." In one smooth easy motion he demonstrated. He picked-up the weapon and aimed out into the night. As the pistol came up, his finger brushed the trigger guard, releasing the mechanism that allowed it to fire. "I've got rounds in my pack, but for tonight it remains empty. Tomorrow you'll load it like this." He popped open the cylinder and showed her where the ammunition was housed. "Rule number one about fire arms is that you always treat them as if they're loaded. Rule number two is that the safety on at all times…"

The lesson went on from there. He broke down the small gun into its pieces and showed her how to put it back together. All the while he talked about proper care of the pistol; types of ammunition; the effect different weather conditions had on accuracy of a shot; and always, always went back over how to handle it safely. He made her take it apart and put it back together until her hands shook and her head swam with facts.

"Deeg, this is important. If you're not up to it, I need to know." He was demanding and insistent. He'd thought long and hard before giving her the weapon. In the end he'd decided that if she knew how to use it effectively it could tip the balance if they were in a tight situation.

"I can do this!" her voice cracked and her eyes flashed. "You're dumping a lot of information on me all at once. Give me a second to process it!"

"It's the two of us out here and if things turn ugly I have to know that you'll be all right," his words were tinged with fear. "I know you've got magic to help you, but what if it isn't enough….what if…" He could picture her clearly, shivering and exhausted, her powers drained. It made his blood run cold to think how helpless she was when that happened.

"Tin Man…Wyatt…I can do this." DG took a moment to slip the last section of the gun into place and then set the weapon back on his pack. She knew demonstrating her new knowledge was probably the most reassuring thing she could do for him. "We can do it," she added as she lunged across the small space that separated them and hugged him fiercely. She held on tightly and buried her face against his neck. That was her reassurance, being in his arms.

"I have to know you're safe. That's the most important thing." He held her close and tucked his face into her hair. His lips twitched as they grazed her forehead. It was as close to a kiss as he'd come in annuals.

"I am." It bothered her that he worried about her the way he did, especially when she knew the reason. He hadn't been able to save Adora, so he was determined to save her. "Nothing is going to happen to me.

"Yeah, well, I want to be very sure." He pulled back, not wanting to break the embrace, but knowing he had to. "You need some rest, Princess, one way or another, you've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

They settled down on their bedrolls, inches apart. She shifted onto her stomach so she could watch him lying on his side facing her.

"May I ask you a question, Tin Man?" Her left hand slipped across the tiny space that separated them. It looked odd to see the matching wedding rings on their fingers.

"Sure, Princess." He took the hand she offered in his left hand and gently stroked his fingers through her hair with the other. Touching relaxed them both and he was having a hard time keeping his hands off of her.

"It's none of my business but…I was wondering." She felt his hand tighten around hers and she knew it was his way of telling her to go on. "Why's my claustrophobia so much worse than yours. It shouldn't be…I was in that tomb for a fraction of the time you were in…"

"The metal suit," he added on a breath. "I've wondered myself. The only thing I can think of is that those things are made so sustain life," his words were bitter and sharp. "I had all the air I needed, where you didn't. Azkadellia was trying to kill you by suffocation." Cain needed to look at her, as well as touch her, as old memories surfaced. She'd been his anchor the night before, tonight they were each other's. "I didn't have many lucid moments in that thing, caught in the memory loop like I was…but I do remember when my beard grew long and thick…it…ah…pressed against my throat. As much as I wanted the torture to end, and die, I panicked. Those were…rough times," he whispered the last as if it was torn from somewhere deep inside him.

"That's why you never button the top buttons of your shirt." She gripped his hand tightly, giving and taking support in equal portions. It broke her heart to think of him suffering that way.

"Yeah, you caught on to that one real quick." He nodded. They both remembered the first night in the Tower when he'd been so uncomfortable in a borrowed shirt with buttons to the neck.

"You're the bravest person I've ever met," she whispered. He was always putting his battles aside to help her fight hers.

"You're selling yourself short. I don't like small spaces any better than you do. The difference is that I'm better at hiding it. I had eight annuals to learn."

"Oh, God, it's hard to even imagine." She bent her head until it was touching his shoulder. For one terrible moment she was in a tiny space with no end in sight.

"Come here." He shifted slightly and pulled her into his arms. "Don't think about it, Deeg, please don't. Don't let your mind go there." He could tell by the horror in her eyes she'd put herself in his place.

"I have to, if I'm ever going to figure out how to make peace with all that happened because of the Witch." She settled against him feeling warm and safe. "I know I was young and she used me, but I let her do it. My family paid, you paid, and so did most of the Outer Zone."

"You seem to be forgetting the terrible cost to you." Cain tipped her chin so she couldn't look away from him. "Not simply from before, but even now, it isn't easy on you."

"Believe me, I haven't forgotten." She wouldn't have that discussion with him. It would make her sound pitiful and weak. Her pride wouldn't let her. "Really I haven't. I'm trying to deal with issues as they come up. It's part of why I want to go to Mill Town."

He saw pain in her eyes, and the refusal to speak about it. Very gently he pulled her closer until she relaxed against him. Then he tried another tactic to get her to talk about the pieces of her past that were eating at her. "What's it like on the Other Side?"

"Were I lived was flat farmland. You could see for miles and miles. Mom and Pops liked it there, but nothing was ever as good as their life had been in Mill Town. I thought they were just stories made up to entertain a restless young girlbut it ended up those tales where the only part of my childhood that were true." Her eyes were growing heavy as she spoke. She'd discovered peace in her Tin Man's arms, with his heartbeat steady under her ear and his hand moving over the long muscles of her back, massaging away all the tension from the day's ride. It made her careless as she talked and very sleepy.

Just as she was drifting off, another thought made her laugh sleepily. "No matter how much I loved my parents, I never felt like I was home. I had these big plans to go to Australia."

"Australia, where's that?" he whispered, sure she was almost asleep.

"It's another country on the Other Side. Its nicknamed Oz…spelled O Z. All the time I must have been trying to get back here and didn't know it." She yawned.

"I guess you were." He smiled as her eyes slipped closed. "Deeg," he whispered wanting to ask one more question. "Do you feel at home now?"

"Right now, yeah," she murmured as she fell asleep.

Cain waited until he felt her breathing grow deep and even before he brushed his lips against the soft skin of her forehead and whispered, "Me too, babe, me to."

As easily as that, he felt his last emotional tie with Adora vanish. He knew he'd always love her, but it was a sweet thing, a memory from long ago. He looked down at his left hand buried deep in DG's dark hair. The glint of gold on his third finger winked back at him. The fake wedding ring he wore to match his Princess's was more real than the silver one he'd worn for annuals.

Wyatt Cain closed his eyes and pictured the woman he'd been married to. For the first time in longer than he could remember, he saw her face smiling, and happy; there was no fear in her eyes or bruises to mar her lovely complexion, just peace.

"May your road be long and glorious, filled with rainbows and light," he wished her happiness on the journey beyond. More sure than ever that they would never meet again, but this time it wasn't because of his lack of faith in the old ways. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if the Legend of the Cariad was true, the young woman he held in his arms was his.

There was no other explanation for the strong feelings he had for Deeg, after such a short time. He'd tried his damnedest to call them anything from figments of a broken mind to simple lust. But none of those things came close to explaining what he was feeling.

He curled his body tighter around her sleeping form. She'd saved his soul and his heart and in the process turned his world upside-down. He wasn't sure how he was going to convince her that she belonged to him, but he planned on doing his best over the next three weeks.

**TBC**


	7. Holding On

**Rating: **R

**Disclaimer: **See first chapter

**Pairing: **Cain/DG

**Note: **Nobody dies despite the quote!

**Ch 7 – Holding On**

By _Lattelady_

* * *

_Iwanna sleep with you forever_

_And I wanna die in your arms_ – Making Memories Of Us- by Keith Urban

* * *

It had been eight annuals since Wyatt Cain had experienced carnal pleasures. When he'd first been released from his metal prison, that part of life hadn't held any meaning for him. He'd been numb to everything but the need for revenge and he'd planned to stay that way. But in less than a day, feeling had begun to return and it had all centered on DG. First, he felt protective of her and then responsible in ways he didn't understand. Once those small cracks in the armor around his emotions were breached, all the rest came flying back. He couldn't have left her, even if he hadn't promised the Mystic Man.

Now, for the third morning in a row he woke with his arms wrapped around a very desirable woman. It was sending his senses into overload and trying his patience beyond belief! He wanted to drag Deeg's body closer to his and feel every inch of her pressed against him. His muscles tightened as he fought to keep from sliding his hands beneath her clothes to touch soft skin that was calling out to him.

Unaware of the battle that was raging in the man who held her as she slept; she moaned and snuggled closer, throwing her left leg over his thigh.

"Sweet Mother of Rainbows," he muttered and ground his teeth. Was she trying to kill him? He blinked to clear the spots that were forming in front of his eyes due to sudden loss of blood to his head, as it rushed to other parts of his already uncomfortable anatomy.

What was happening to him? He was a cool calm tin man, always in control. Somehow his Princess seemed to be able to send him spinning on his axis even when she was asleep.

"By Glinda, she's beautiful," he whispered as he looked at her face resting on his shoulder. '_And so damn young,_' the voice of reason reminded him. Cain concentrated on that thought and carefully tried to extract his body from under hers. He hadn't gotten far when he noticed her bare foot lying against his pants. It was slim and small boned, but it was her toes that caused his head to flop back onto the ground and wonder what he'd done to piss off the gods so badly this time. The tips of those toes were painted a deep luminous color that was darker than pink but lighter than red.

Azkadellia had tinted her fingernails deep crimson when she'd been possessed by the Sorceress. He'd always thought it made them look as if they were dipped in blood. During his early days as a tin man, when he'd patrolled Sin District Square, he'd busted hookers whose talons were painted every shade of the rainbow. None of them had held any attraction for him. But seeing DG's innocence streaked with an unexpected sensuality of color made him want her until he ached. 

He couldn't help it, his hand wrapped around her ankle of its own accord.

"Wyatt," she murmured and blinked. "Everything okay?" She was vaguely aware that he was holding her foot, but she'd never been a morning person and nothing was making much sense to her.

"No-it's-not," he spat out each word carefully and precisely, trying to rid himself of thoughts no decent man had about his woman. "You've practically crawled on top of me!" anger tinged his words, but he was upset with himself, not her.

"Oh, oh, sorry." She sat-up half way and saw where her leg was. "I didn't mean…I'd never…" She was assailed with guilt. Had she been making advances to him in her sleep? No wonder he was cranky. She had the utmost respect for him as a widower and would never trespass on his memories. Despite in her own personal dictionary, under the word hunk, was the definition Wyatt Cain. 

"Don't let it happen again," he snapped and rolled out from under her, grabbing his duster and slipping into it as he sat up. The roomy coat kept his dignity intact as he got to his feet. But he needed to give himself some breathing room so he picked up the canteen and headed out of the cave, never saying another word.

He leaned against a tree and ignored the drizzle as the first sun rose. Looking at the sky he knew there would be rainbows again. The tactician in him nodded in approval. The more often those rainbows returned, the stronger the Queen's position. The part of him who was a frustrated male, didn't give damn. 

He stood out in the early morning rain trying to get control of a body that burned with desire for a twenty annual-old Princess. He knew he'd been surly when he left as he did, but what else was he to do? The revelation he'd had the night before was his, not hers. He wasn't fool enough to have missed that she liked him, and trusted him as a friend, but what he was feeling was so much more than that! It was confusing and convoluted and if he'd had less control over himself he would have thrown the canteen across the clearing.

Falling asleep with her curled in his arms was the sweetest thing he'd ever experienced, but he paid the price for it when he woke with desires that he was hardly able to curb. He had a very real fear that one of these mornings he'd take her before either of them knew what was happening.

Right then and there he decided that no matter what, he couldn't sleep beside her. 

* * *

At first DG was pleased with the progress she was making with the weapon Cain gave her. She worked hard to follow his instructions. She found it interesting, a challenge to see if she could hit the mark he'd drawn on the tree, but as time went on it was hard to keep on going. He was an exacting teacher who expected one hundred and ten percent from her each time and she tried not to disappoint him. But nothing she did was quite good enough. He seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and had long since lost any semblance of patience. By the second hour, she was snarling right back at him.

"I'm doing my best, Cain!" She glared over her shoulder. 

"You can snap at me all you want, but if you can't hit the target without using magic, that weapon is going back in my pack and staying there." He covered her hand, slipped his finger over the safety on the trigger guard and took the pistol away from her all the while scowling as if they were being chased by Papay runners.

"Damnit, Wyatt, I'm not using magic!" She fumed. Her hand was shaking and her wrist was sore. "But even if I did use it, what's the big deal." She threw her arms in the air in defeat. The man was being impossible.

"Because the time that gun is most likely to save your life is when your power is depleted and you're shaking with cold and exhaustion." He gripped her shoulder his eyes burning with something she didn't quiet understand.

"Wait, wait…" She was getting a terrible picture of what he was expecting her to do. "I thought the whole idea of this was that if we were attacked, there would be two of us shooting instead of one."

"Think again, Princess," he spit the words out, not wanting to listen to her argument. It had been his original plan, along with the idea that two armed riders would be a less tempting mark for thieves. Seeing her actually use a firearm caused something in him to question putting her in such a vulnerable spot. "You start shooting and it automatically makes you a target."

"From what you say, I'm already a target!" She glared and then her eyes grew large as comprehension dawned. "You're teaching me to use this thing, so I can protect myself if you've already been shot?" She tilted her head so her chin jutted out, waiting for him to deny it. When he didn't she shivered and had to fight to keep from being sick. "I won't do it! I won't stand by and let you…let you…"

"It's my job. It's what I've been doing since the beginning." He pulled on the brim of his hat, a sure sign that the conversation was about over. "Hell it's what I did for the Mystic Man."

"I can use my magic and that gun, too," she argued, not wanting to think about the Mystic Man and Cain's promise to him. "Then you tell me, Mr. Man-With-The-Plan, what the hell am I doing while you're busy taking a bullet for me!"

"You stay undercover and use whatever powers you've got to protect yourself. I'll do the rest." 

"You expect me to cower behind a wall of white light while you defend us?" She gasped. "No--no deal. It doesn't work that way Tin Man. You can keep your gun and your lessons. Either we both shoot together or I'm not going any further with this," her words ran on top of one another until they overlapped and she didn't know if he was understanding her, but the idea of simply letting him die made her hurt deep inside.

"Deeg, do you remember what happened to you the night you fought the Witch?" He gripped her shoulders and leaned close so he was inches away from her face. All of his earlier anger was gone, replaced by emotions just as deep and dark. "Do you remember?"

"I was tired and cold, but I don't see what that has to do with this." She glared at him, but it was hard to stay angry when she saw fear and pain in his eyes.

"Tired and cold don't begin to describe it!" His was seeing her as she'd been that night, superimposed with images of attacking Longcoats. "You were helpless!" 

"No, it wasn't like that," she whispered.

"I was there, remember. I saw what happened."

"I'm sorry you did. As much as I needed you that night, I'd never worry you like that. You've been through too much." DG caressed his cheek to bring him back to the present. "Please, Wyatt, look at me."

"Princess--"

"Hush." She covered his lips with her fingers. "I'm not Adora." She knew she was taking a chance evoking his dead wife's name, but he needed to understand that things were different this time. "I have ways to protect myself that she didn't."

"Don't you think I already understand that!" his voice was rough and harsh with guilt. As much as he wanted DG, he knew that if his wife were alive, he would be back in the cabin with her, no matter what his heart said. He honored both women too much to betray one for the other. 

"Tin Man," she sighed and put her arms around him. "Please, please I can't fight with you about this. It hurts too much," she gasped. 

"I know, Kiddo, believe me I know." He held her close in the early morning sun, straining his body against her. Then because he was sick and tired of always being so proper and controlled, he ran his lips through her hair, leaving a feather light kiss on her forehead.

DG held on tightly to him, unsure if she dreamed the gentle touch of his mouth against her skin or not. She was out of her depths. Was he changing the parameters of their relationship, or was it her imagination run wild?

He didn't know how long they stood there in the depths of the trees, holding on to each other, as if there was no one else left in the world. When he became aware of the passage of time he slowly loosened his arms and let them drop to his sides. "We have to get going if we're to make any progress today." He closed his eyes and shook his head to drive out what ever visions haunted him. "I need to think on this a bit. Either way, you should have more practice before you pack a weapon."

Tin Man," she whispered, looking up at him. "Just so you know, there are very few people left in my life who I…who I really care about. You're one of them." Everyone had been ripped from her. The man and woman, who she knew intellectually, were her parents, felt like quiet strangers. Everyone from her life in Kansas was forever out of reach. Now she only had Raw, Glitch, Cain, and maybe Azkadellia. Her heart knew that Wyatt Cain led all the rest, but it wasn't something she could say to him. "I can't stand to lose any one else."

"Well, Princess, it looks like we're in a similar situation." His voice was rusty and harsh as if he was thinking things too painful to speak of. "As I said earlier, let me ponder this a bit." 

She frowned and tilted her head in wonder, suddenly sure that he had a lot more on his mind than whether she should be carrying a gun or not. Something had shifted between them and they both knew it.

* * *

Late in the afternoon they came on a small cluster of dilapidated buildings huddled together in the foot hills of the Black Mountains.

"Are we going to stop?"

"Fraid so, we've been seen and it'd look suspicious if we just rode on by. You follow my lead and try to remember to call me by my fist name." Cain remembered hearing talk of this place. It was a small trading and supply depot, but he'd never been there. It was in a sorry state of repairs and didn't appear as if it was doing any business. 

"Don't come no closer!" An angry woman opened the door and held a shotgun on the approaching couple.

"Easy there ma'am, my wife and I are just passing through." Cain held up his left hand and pushed back his duster with the right.

"Keep away from that shooter 'a yours, boy" the woman warned. "I got ya both in my sights. These are perilous times and I'm not taking no chances."

"Ma'am we mean you no harm." He glanced at his Princess and wanted to tell her to run, to get out of the line of fire, but she only met his eyes and shook her head. It was like the argument from that morning, only this time it was taking place with a shotgun trained on them. "Heard tell this was a place to stop and freshen up supplies."

"That was a long time past. What news ya got from Central City? The war really over, the Sorceress really dead?" she punctuated each question with a slight movement of her gun 

Cain looked back at the woman, quickly taking in the surroundings. Nailed to one of the posts that supported the rundown old porch was a familiar wanted poster, but his picture and DG's were almost unidentifiable. His hair was much darker and hers lighter but it was the changes to the basic bone structure of their faces that surprised him. The Queen had said she'd done something to those posters, but part of him hadn't believed her. One look told him they wouldn't be recognized 

"We're not from Central City--" He'd been tempted to use one of the resistance's pass codes, but he had no idea where this woman's sympathies lay. 

"You're wearing the outer garb of a tin man. That says Central City to me." She pointed her gun at Cain's chest. "Though t'ain't been an honest one 'a them 'round in years."

"Wait, please don't shoot!" the Princess tried to nudge her horse forward but Cain was too quick for her. He grabbed her bridle before she could move in front of him. "He _was_ a tin man, a long time ago."

"Move away, Deeg," he whispered. 

"I can't!" She knew there would be hell to pay later, but he'd fought a long lonely battle until she and Glitch had come along. She refused to ever let him do so again. 

"He's an ex-tin man and the most honest person I've ever known." DG's eyes filled, but she met the old woman's distrustful gaze head on. "He spent the last eight annuals in a metal suit because of it."

"Good try, Girly, you almost had me, but no one survives that long in one of those things!" the woman sputtered. She gave the large man another look. He had a square determined jaw and the harsh expression in his eyes was mean enough to freeze the air around them except when he looked at the girl at his side. 

"DG, that's enough!" he snapped clearly more worried about her safety than his own.

"He did. I'm telling the truth." Deeg kept on arguing. "I know because I'm the one who set him free." She could see his face as it had been when that metal door had opened. He'd appeared as corroded as the suit. His hair and beard long and dirty, only his eyes recognizable. Unbeknownst to her, she'd called on her magic and it broadcast that picture to the woman ten feet away.

"I…ah…ah…" The woman blinked and slowly lowered her shotgun. She'd seen some strange sights in her time, but the image that flashed into her mind left her no doubt what the tall man had been through. "Sorry folks, but ya can't be too careful in these dark times." She looked between the branches of the trees to the patches of sky that could be seen. "There's rain a' comin' again tonight. You're welcome to camp out in one 'a the outbuildings in exchange for some news from the east."

* * *

Cain didn't say a word until they'd bedded down the horses in the small back shed, where they were going to be sleeping too. 

"Take this." He handed DG the small weapon and a holster to go with it. "Put it on and wear it at all times."

"I thought you didn't want me to--"

"I hadn't made up my mind yet, but you took the choice away from me when you used magic on her." 

"Wait…I didn't…" She searched her memory for what he was talking about. "You're right I did, but I didn't mean to."

"That's part of the problem." He leaned in close, refusing to let fear get the best of him. They were in an uncontrolled situation and he didn't have the luxury of venting. "You use it without even thinking about it, a little here, and a little there, and then when you need it in a big way, it drains you!"

"You're right, I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'll try and be more aware from here on in." Unable to think of anything else to say, she fastened the gun around her waist and reached for their bag of supplies. "Do we offer to share with her?" 

"It's the neighborly thing to do." He looked her up and down and nodded to the holster. "Does it fit?"

"Yes, thank you." DG brushed past him, tired and hungry.

"What kind of spell did you put on her? I mean if it's gonna wear off, I want to know about it and be ready in case I find myself facing that side-by-side again."

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes and glared at him. "I let her see that you'd really been in that suit for all that time, that's all. I wanted her to trust us for real…not just fake."

"Hhhmm," he thought about it for a moment and decided that what she'd done wasn't all that bad. Maybe it was an efficient use of her magic. "Here, take my hand." He held out his left hand, always careful to keep his gun hand free. "We're supposed to be in love, remember."

"How can I forget?" She laid her palm against his and was surprised when he separated his fingers and intertwined them with hers. "Are you still upset about what happened?"

"Parts of it," he answered cryptically. "But we'll talk about it later." 

* * *

"Looks ta me like your man's takin' his anger out on that woodpile, not that I don't appreciate it." The older woman, who had introduced herself as Tillie Makepiece, glanced out her window as she worked on supper. Cain was splitting logs for all he was worth. "He didn't like it none that you would 'a put yourself at risk for him."

"Well that's just too darn bad. I'm not going to sit back passively and let him get shot." 

"Ya got a powerful love for that man, don't ya?"

DG was caught by surprise. The observation made something clutch at her heart because it was true and for the first, and probably only, time she was free to admit it. "Yes, I do." She shrugged. "I haven't known him long, he's older and there are a thousand reasons why I shouldn't, but I do. I love him very much."

"When love is right, that's the way it." Tillie commented. "You're newlyweds, aren't ya?" 

"I guess you'd call us that." DG nervously twisted the unfamiliar wedding ring on her finger. 

"You'll get used ta the ring soon 'nough." She patted the girls arm. "It's a Cariad ring, some say they take a bit more time to settle in but once they do you'll feel it on your finger even if you've taken it off." The woman gently touched the small piece of gold that adorned her own finger. "Mine is so worn ya can hardly see the markings 'a the rainbow." She sighed lost in though. "Since they came back ta the morning skies, it helps to remind a body about their meaning."

Deeg had wondered about the three tiny wavy lines on the side of her ring. She'd thought that was what Wyatt meant when he'd said that couples in the OZ wore matching rings. But it seemed it was more than that. She would have loved to ask Tillie about it, but didn't dare. It would be a dead give away that she hadn't been raised here.

She and Cain had already told her the story that they were using for cover. They were travelers, looking to homestead and set up housekeeping since the Queen was back and the realm safe.

"So I guess you and the mister must 'a been in on that big battle at the Tower?" Tillie was hungry for news.

"Battles are terrible things," Deeg sighed, remembering the scores of wounded and dying.

"That I know, honey, that I know." The older woman looked out her window to the left. "Back that way, behind that stand of trees, you'll find four graves, well makers anyway. Only my husband, Mal, and our youngest are buried there. The twins died in a valley to the north, trying to prevent the Sorceress from cleansing some village or other. Resistance lost too many that day to bring any 'a the bodies back." She went back to fixing dinner, her mind still in the clearing behind the trees. 

"I so sorry, Ma'am," DG sniffed as tears filled her eyes. Once again she was faced with the death and destruction that was caused because she'd failed Az in that cave so many years earlier.

"I gave up the day I got the news." Tillie shook her head. "My men fought for the resistance, but I blamed it for their deaths as much as I did the Longcoats. Now you and your man show up and I get me some new truths. The Queen is back on the throne. The Princess of Light fought the dark as predicted in the legends. The rainbows that have returned to our morning skies are here to stay."

"'_The majestic Queen of the O.Z., Had two lovely daughters she, One to darkness she be drawn, And one to light she be shown. Double eclipse it is foreseen, Light meets dark and the stillness between, But only one and one alone, Shall hold the emerald and take the thrown,_'" DG quoted the rhyme the Witch had tried to make her believe had no significance. 

"Yup, that's the one. Someone taught you well." The older woman smiled. "It's just a pity we didn't know which Queen it would happen to. We should 'a been ready, but we weren't."

* * *

Later as DG bathed and washed her hair in Tillie's little bathing room, Cain kept one hand on his weapon and one eye on the door as he waited.

"Have no worry she is safe and so 're you." The old woman sat knitting by the fire.

"As you said earlier, ya can't be too careful in these perilous times."

"You need ta be sure she don't tell that story 'bout freein' you from the Iron Maiden no more." Her needles stopped clicking and she looked up into cool ice blue eyes. "Her legend is already growin' and that's a powerful part of it. _The Princess of Light appeared and rescued her Tin Man from the dark of the metal that had held him prisoner for annuals. He became her protector and she his hope_."

"Nice little legend, but I thought they all had to rhyme." He shrugged trying to look nonchalant. 

"I'm sure once the scholars get a hold 'a it, they'll prettify it so it matches all them others." Tillie turned serious and covered his hand with hers. "She's given me hope and made me believe. My heart got torn ta bits in that damn war, but I can feel it beatin' in my chest again. I'd never do or say anything that might hurt her."

He stared at her refusing to either confirm or deny her suspicions. 

* * *

DG and Cain ran through the downpour to the shed. He held his coat over their heads and she held onto him.

"Wow, does it always rain like this?" She shook out her damp skirt and sat on her bedroll to pull off her wet boots. She had a towel around her shoulders to keep her clean blouse dry since her hair was still wet from washing it.

"Not in the annuals of the Witch." He had his arms crossed over his chest and he leaned against the doorframe as he gazed out at the night. He wasn't happy. He was still upset about the risk Deeg had taken that afternoon. He didn't doubt for a minute that Tillie Makepiece new their true identities, though at least she'd warned them about what had given them away.

He glared at the rain one last time before he closed and barred the door the best he could, practically tripping over his bedroll in the process. Once again he was going to end up sleeping in a tiny space with his Princess, despite all good intentions to the contrary. No, Wyatt Cain was not a happy man.

"Deeg, we need to add this to your list of lessons." He knelt beside her and reluctantly handed her his weapon. 

"But that's yours." She turned around and stared at him. She'd just gotten her boots off and was sitting cross-legged on her bedroll toweling her hair dry. 

"Yup, you were right this morning and I was wrong."

"But my magic can protect both of us. I don't have any need to learn to shoot that." She shook her head gently in denial

"Now you're thinking like I was. If things go bad, it'll take both of us using everything we've got. Here, take it." He shoved it into her hands. "We need to prepare for the worst. I didn't do that once, and others paid the price right alone with me." He thought of Adora being beaten and the years Jeb spent killing instead of playing.

"I don't think I can do this." She went up on her knees so they were inches apart and looked him in the eyes. "Not what you're asking me to do."

"Yes ya can, Deeg." He pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Try holding it like I showed you this morning. It's half again as heavy as yours and takes a larger caliber of cartridge, so the recoil will be more than you're used to." He talked as she raised his pistol and pointed it toward the door. "Good girl, you remembered what I taught you about keeping the safety on unless firing it." 

"It's not only heavier, it feels bulky." She locked her wrist so muscles tired from practicing that morning wouldn't shake.

"That's because your hand is smaller than mine. Easy does it." He wrapped one arm around her waist to steady her body and slid the fingers of his other one over her extended arm until he was supporting the weight she was holding. "Now sight down the barrel as I taught you. The thing to remember about this weapon is that it pulls just slightly to the left. It'll take some practice to get used to that."

"Tin Man," she whispered. "If I ever have to use this gun it'll mean you're down, probably dead." 

"That's about right." He felt her body begin to shake and grabbed the pistol from her fingers before she dropped it. Once it was on the blanket, within easy reach he wrapped both arms around her and held her close. 

"Weren't you listening to what I told you this morning? I don't want to lose you." She buried her face against his neck as he picked her up and pulled her into his lap. 

"I don't want to lose you either, Kiddo, that's why I want you to be proficient with both weapons." He ran a hand through her freshly washed hair carefully untangling it and enjoying the excuse to touch her. "If I have to live with you jumping in to protect me, then you're damn well going to know how to defend yourself if you've used up all your magic doing so and I'm down."

She looked at him carefully gauging his words. "God, I almost wish this was some kind of twisted payback," she whispered.

"I wouldn't do that to you."

"I know, 'cause you're Wyatt Freakin' Cain, Ex-tin Man Extraordinaire." She bit her lip to keep from giggling because there was nothing funny about what he needed her to learn and she was afraid that she'd end up crying instead.

"Tomorrow, before we get to the first Resistance camp, we'll take some time and go over both weapons." He swung her to the blanket beside him, unsure how much longer he could take holding her that close. The move caused her skirt to ride up almost to her knees and he noticed, for the first time since she'd taken off her boots that she was barefoot. A strange buzzing filled his head. He was aware she was talking to him, but didn't hear a word she said.

"Tomorrow, I promise and I'll do better than today." 

"Where the hell are your socks?" his voice was horse as he stared at ten brightly painted toes. The color reminded him of fantasizes he'd had as a young man, about sinful women and all the things they did with a man that couldn'tbe donewith a woman respectable enough to marry. Cain was no prude, but even as a youth he'd been smart enough to stay away from whores.

"I washed them when I took my bath and haven't had a chance to put on a clean pair yet. What's the matter?" She didn't understand what was wrong. He was looking at her as if she'd committed a crime. "Do you have a foot fetish or something?"

"Hardly." He glared at her. "I'm trying to protect your virtue, Princess."

"Don't women in the Zone show their feet?" She was sure she'd seen women in sandals somewhere in their travels.

"It's the color…don't let anyone see that." He pointed. "Polite women don't…"

"But Az…oh right that was when she was the Sorceress," she gasped.

"Yeah, pretty much." He watched her scurry to her pack and dig through it for socks. 

"I'm on a diplomatic mission for the Queen and because of this." She pointed to her now covered toes. "People will think I'm evil too? I don't have any polish remover with me…_at all_…it's back in Kansas!"

"Not just evil, Princess, licentious and…a bit more." It was the only way he could think to phrase it politely.

"In other words, I'm a whore who is a bit on the kinky side." She buried her face in her hands, totally embarrassed. "I could magic it away, but I don't want to. I like it." She looked up at him her face filled with doubt. "You do understand that I'm not like that?" Her brow was furrowed in doubt."It's done all the time on the Other Side."

"Yeah, I figured that out long before I was treated to your more risqué attributes." He ran a hand gently down the contours of her face.

"You're finding this entertaining aren't you?" She lay down on her bedroll with her back to him. Her feelings were hurt. Here was a man she wanted to impress and he was having a hard time not laughing at her.

"Intriguing is a better way to describe it. We have the virtues Princess of the Light and she is sporting some very unusual decorations." He found it sexy as hell, but didn't dare tell her that. The idea of sweet innocence that sinned only with him was a siren's call he'd always denied and here it was, right beside him.

"Just how do you know I'm so damn virtuous?" She stiffened her shoulders and pulled her blanket tight up around her neck. "I'd almost rather be thought of as a kinky whore."

"No you wouldn't," he whispered as he lay down beside her and rubbed her back until he felt her muscles begin to relax. "And I know because I've spent the last three nights sleeping beside you."Not once during those nights did she show the least bit of interest. It was obvious she trusted him and cared about him, but it wasn't enough. He needed a sign from her that he was more than her platonic protector. 

"Tin Man--" she rolled back until she was pressed against his chest. 

"No more questions tonight." He picked her up just enough so he could get his left arm under her head and then pulled her back until she was lying on his shoulder and wrapped his right arm around her waist. "Now go to sleep." He kissed the top of her head before burying his nose her hair,

She held onto him as tightly as he was holding onto her as they both fell asleep. 

**TBC**


	8. Break On Through

**Rating: **PG-13

**Pairing: **CDG

**Disclaimer: **Don't own 'em. I may have poached DG's last line from '_Pretty Woman_'. It was not intentional, the words seemed to fit. Needless to say, I don't own that anymore than I own _Tin Man._

**Note: **The name of Sam Gerard was used because the whole time I wrote Sam I pictured Tommy Lee Jones from _The Fugitive._

**Ch – 8 – Break On Through**

By _Lattelady_

_And there'll be a new day_

_Comin' your way –_ Making Memories Of Us – by Keith Urban

...

Cain woke DG before dawn. He was anxious to leave Tillie Makepiece's homestead and be on the road. They ate a quick breakfast and after a hasty good-bye, mounted up and headed out. The world around them was wet with rain and in the distance the first sun was peeking over the trees creating cascades of rainbows in all directions.

"We couldn't have stayed until the storm was over?" Deeg huddled deeper into her wet weather gear and glared at her companion.

"Tillie knows who you are. I didn't confirm it one way or the other, but she knows." He frowned.

"How? I was careful." She thought back to the conversation she'd had with the elderly woman when they were fixing dinner. "I didn't say anything that would give us away."

"Yes, you did. When you told her you'd freed me from the suit." His voice ground to a halt at the memory. "Somehow she'd heard about it."

"It's only been about two weeks. How can anyone know?" she sighed in aggravation. "Everyone who was involved has been a bit busy."

"It's worse than just one old woman knowing. From what Tillie said, it's taken on the proportions of a legend." He wasn't going to go into detail with her about it, though he knew she'd hear it eventually. They needed time alone together. He didn't want her to know that people were already speaking of them in the same breath.

"Great, just great, now I'm a legend."

"Princess, you were already a legend, you just didn't know it." He gave her a sideways glance to gauge her reaction.

"I'm sorry I said anything, I was trying to help." DG refused to think about how terrified she'd been when that shotgun had been aimed at her Tin Man. "There's a saying on the Other Side. A lie seasoned with truth is easier to digest."

"Truth or lie, it doesn't seem to matter, people are hungry for any information about The Princess of Light. Who knows what other rumors are out there."

"There goes any privacy I might have had." She mourned the loss of her old life. "If Tillie recognized me from that story, it seems I've pulled you in along side of me."

"We need to be careful." He knew was being cranky that morning, but he'd spent the night worrying.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" She wished they weren't on horseback, so that she could touch him. He was looking raw around the edges.

"Not a whole lot." He'd spent the long hours holding her and listening for odd sounds, his weapon within easy reach.

"You should have said something. We could have taken turns standing guard." Deeg patted the pistol at her side and smiled.

"No, that's my job," his voice was clipped and cool. He was going to protect her and she had to learn to live with that fact.

"But I can help, I'm supposed to help. Don't you trust me, Wyatt?" The thought was like a punch to her stomach. Did he still think she was an inept kid? What more did she need to do to prove that this was an equal partnership?

"Ah hell, of course I do!" He gripped her reins and pulled her horse closer to his, bringing them to a standstill. "I may not have slept, but I did get some rest. I couldn't have done that if I hadn't been holding…if I hadn't known exactly where you were. When I have doubts about the security of our position, I need to know that you're where I can get to you quickly." He felt silly talking like that. He wasn't the kind of man who spoke of his feelings. Though he was beginning to realize she was a woman who needed to hear them.

"That's why you think it's so important for me to learn both guns." She saw pain reflected back at her in his crystal blue eyes, pain and something else that she didn't recognize.

"Yeah, pretty much." He didn't like having this conversation on the trail, but it needed to be taken care of. He had to be sure she could defend herself if he wasn't around to do it.

"All right, I'll learn to use your damn pistol, but you've got to promise me that no matter how good I get with it, I won't have to use it." She glared at him, his words from before they went off to battle the Witch ringing loud in her ears. "Promise me that you'll try to get out of what ever we run into, alive. There will be none of that taking a bullet for the Princess shit!"

"Deeg--"

"No!" she cut him off, refusing to let him go on. "There is only so much I can be asked to live with. Look around. I'm part of the reason the Outer Zone was almost destroyed. Thousands of people lost their lives and there wasn't anything clean about the way they went. Too many of them died screaming or were forced into a living death in those damn metal suits!" She gripped his hand needing to touch him. "I can't…I…Please don't ask me to live with the knowledge that you…that one more person died because of me."

He wanted to pull away, her pain was too great and he felt her absorbing his where their hands were joined. "You saw too much," he whispered. He knew what he'd looked like and how dead he'd been when she'd released the latch and let light into his world for the first time in eight annuals.

"No, I saw what I needed to see so I'd understand. All my memories up until that time were lies. I need…" She smiled, but it was brittle and hard, not her usual infectious grin. "I need to make new ones, but they have to be based on truth."

"Didn't we have this conversation yesterday morning?"

"Yes, but you were being stubborn then too." Worried sapphire eyes met cool crystal blue ones. "And we may have it again tomorrow and the day after that, and then the one after that, until you understand." She had to make him realize how important this was to her.

"Deeg…" He wanted to argue, but something in her demeanor stopped him. He took a moment and tried to imagine what it would be like if she were dead but he wasn't. His mind wouldn't go there. It wasn't like it was with Adora. There was no deep sorrow but acceptance that life would go on. Without DG there was no life for him. For the first time he hoped that the Legend of the Cariad was true. He could picture that, both of them dead or both of them alive, but always together.

"Wyatt, you have to promise me." Her eyes were wide and she was filled with resolve.

"All right," he sighed. "But I want your word that you'll do everything in your power to save yourself."

"It's a deal, Mr. Cain." She held out her hand to seal their bargain. "We both do everything we can to stay alive."

"Yeah," his voice broke as he refused her hand and pulled her close. He wasn't happy with their deal, but he knew there were some things not even he could get her to budge on.

The target practice was as hard on DG as she'd anticipated, but she did her best to hide it from him. She'd discovered that a tiny pull on her inner light could even out almost any emotional response. A little voice in her head told her she shouldn't use magic indiscriminately, and if he knew, he'd be pissed, but she did it anyway.

By the time they were through she was confident in her use of the small weapon she now carried strapped to her hip. She'd hated every moment she'd spent leaning to use his larger pistol. It felt heavy and awkward in her hand and just plain wrong, but she was resolved to master it. It was her way of being sure he kept his side of their deal.

...

Cain used resistance codes that Jeb had given him to get them past the guards. The 'blue smoke' identifier he'd used when on their travels to find the emerald was eight annuals old and not everyone trusted or recognized it anymore. Everything went smoothly until they rode into the clearing, where the camp was located, and three tiny men began raising a ruckus

"The spy! It's the spy!" a Munchkin with red paint on his head cried out.

"Kill her. She brought Longcoats down on our camp," his blue painted companion added and shook his spear at DG.

"Fellas, I tried to explain before, I'm not a spy." She glared at them. "And what did you do with my locket? I want it back."

"Witch, witch," the third small man, wearing purple paint on his face and head shouted.

"I see you've had dealings with the Eastern Guild." Cain shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why is nothing ever simple with you, Princess?" The wary looks and muttering that ran through camp made him uneasy.

"I told you about them. Those are the turkeys who held Glitch and me prisoner." She turned back to the Munchkins, but could only hear their shouts, not see them. The small warriors were lost among the crowd of taller, normal-size resistance fighters. She refused to let these strange men with their tiny minds control the opinion of these people. "I'm not a witch or a spy, I am Princess DG and I've come as an emissary of the Queen. The war is over, the Witch dead."

"'Fraid you'll have to do a bit better than that." A tall, rangy dark-haired, older man moved through the men and women who had surrounded them. "We've been hearing rumors. You could be anybody. 'Sides Red Hat and his boys have made an accusation. What do ya have to say for yourself 'bout that?" He made the mistake of reaching for Deeg's bridle to take control of her reins.

"Stay back." The Tin Man moved his coat aside, his hand almost to his weapon, but froze when the clearing was filled with the distinctive click of cocking rifles.

"Everybody take it easy." DG raised one hand and placed the other, cautiously, on his arm. "Please, Cain, guns won't settle this."

"Cain…hmmm…any relation to Jeb and Adora Cain?" The man who was still standing next to the Princess's horse asked with a frown.

"Jeb is my son and Adora was my wife. Who would you be?"

"Name's Sam Gerard and I'm the one askin' the questions," he answered. "You two get down off them animals, and hand over them shooters, we need ta talk." Once he'd disarmed them, he motioned them to logs that were used for seating around the campfire.

"I've got a letter from the Queen, but it's in the inside pocket of my jacket." DG looked over her shoulder at Gerard. "I'd like to get it, but don't want to get shot in the process."

"Reach for it nice and slow but remember we got weapons pointed at your head and his." Sam jammed the barrel of his pistol into Wyatt's neck. He disliked the blonde man on sight and would take pleasure in killing him, but the rebellion was more important than personal grudges. If there was the smallest chance the girl was telling the truth, he had to listen.

"That's not necessary. You're hurting him!" DG jumped to her feet and turned around, glaring at the resistance leader who was taking delight in tormenting her Tin Man.

"Anymore sudden moves like that, honey and I'm gonna blow his head off!"

"I thought you were supposed to be the good guys." Her chin rose in defiance and she automatically reached for Wyatt's hand.

"Deeg," Cain muttered a warning between clenched teeth. "Give him the damn letter." He intertwined his fingers with hers and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Lady, I'm losing patience with you fast. You got something for me or not?" By the stars, Gerard wanted to pull the trigger. He hadn't missed the Cariad rings the couple wore. This man, this absent husband, had stood between him and his Cariad. Sam hated him for it.

"Kill the witch," the Munchkins chanted off in the distance, but everyone seemed to be concentrating on the drama that was unfolding at the center of camp and ignoring the tiny men. "Kill the spy before she brings Longcoats down on us."

"Here," she reached carefully into her inner pocket and pulled out the official document. She was careful to hand it to him so the Seal of the Queen of the Outer Zone, was clear for all to see. "Now step back. You don't need to harm him."

"Cal," Gerard called to his second-in-command, as he pulled a pair of reading spectacles out of his pocket. "Keep an eye on these two, whilst I take a gander at this thing."

"Sit back down beside your man," Calvin Winterburn advised. He was a huge bear of a man who, unlike Sam, was born and raised in the mountains where they where hiding.

Once he no longer had gunmetal pressing into his skin, Cain took a good look around "You've got a strange mix of people here." The group was made up of men and women from all over the Zone. "I've never known Eastern Guild Fighters to join with mountain or lowland folk."

"These are dangerous times." Gerard took a last look at the letter before handing it to his second-in-command. "Those Fighters are the only three to survive a Longcoats attack on their village, a bit over a week ago. What do you got to say for yourselves on that issue?" He nodded to DG to begin talking.

"Back off first. Give us some breathing room." She glared into Gerard's cold brown eyes. "You've got enough firepower to kill us ten times over."

The older man raised an eyebrow, but finally stepped back a few paces. The part of him that craved piece, hoped the girl was telling the truth. She was gutsy and strong and would make a hell of a Queen, but the part of him that had loved Adora Cain, wanted any excuse to kill the man who's specter had stood between him and his love for annuals.

...

It took over an hour to tell their story. Cain sat by DG, his shoulder pressed into hers to give her support, but he let go of her hand in preparation to spring into action, if necessary. Rationally he knew that they were surrounded and there was nothing he could do to save her if shooting started; but a little voice inside of him kept screaming at him to throw her to the ground and cover her body with his.

"That document looks official enough, and that's some story you told, but I'm gonna need more proof. It all just seems a bit too good to be true. The Princess Dorothy Gale, back from the dead. Her presence ushered in by the Rainbows of Glinda." Gerard kept telling himself that he was digging for more information because he was worried about his people, it had nothing to do with the intense dislike he had for Wyatt Cain.

"I told you I wasn't dead, well I was for a while, but then the Queen used her magic to bring me back."

"You're telling us we should follow a Monarch who traded the lives of thousands of her people for one of her children?" Someone deep in the crowd yelled.

"It wasn't like that! She had a terrible decision to make and didn't make it lightly. The easy thing for her to do would have been to challenge the Witch to win back Azkadellia. It was what her mother's heart was telling her to do. But she knew the risk was too great, the Evil One too strong. If Queen Lavender had fought and lost, the Outer Zone would have been under the power of the Sorceress for all time. Instead she used her powers to bring me back to life and send me to the Other Side with hidden knowledge that would help me when I was old enough to return. She knew what she was asking of her people, but she didn't ask any less of herself. She's spent ten of the last fifteen annuals locked in a magic prison. She lost one daughter to darkness and the other to a life in a different world. She sent her beloved husband away and blackened his name so he could help when the time came."

"You tellin' us you're more powerful than the Queen?" Gerard's eyes swept DG. "You look like a strong breeze would knock ya over."

Sitting beside her, Cain smothered a laugh. "She's a hell of a lot stronger than she looks."

The Princess glared at the two men on either side of her. "This has nothing to do with brute strength, but strength of magic. It took the combined powers of two women with mature magic to kill the Witch." Her eyes flashed fire, daring anyone to say differently. "The Sorceress was stronger than any one of us. She drew on ancient magic that has long since passed from this world."

"Easy there, Princess." Cain covered her hand and linked their fingers.

She'd needed his touch, but didn't realize it until his skin came into contact with hers. He relaxed her and gave her focused calm.

"There might be some truth to your words, then again, there is only one way to find out." Sam looked around the crowd that had gathered. "Is Stom in camp?"

As his name was called, an old Viewer moved out of the trees and joined his commander. Two men went to the supply tent and brought back a large sheet of metal. Its surface was dented in places, but had a dull sheen.

"You're story gonna stand up to a Viewer's scrutiny, Princess?" Gerard spat out her title.

"Don't subject her to that." Cain situated his muscular body between DG's slight frame and the Viewer's. "Use me, look into my memories." He remembered the pain Glitch had been in when Raw looked for information about the invention the Sorceress had built.

"It's has to be me. You weren't on the balcony when we defeated the Witch. That's what they need to see." Raw had warned her this was a possibility before they left and had done his best to prepare her for it.

Wyatt's eyes turned to blue ice. He knew she was right and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. He would have to sit quietly beside her while they pried the assurances they needed out of her brain. His lips tightened when he realized that the Queen had sent DG for this very reason. "I don't like it."

"I'm not wild about it myself, but I don't see any other way to convince them." Her eyes met his, trying to give him reassurance. "I'll be all right. I've…ah…ah…done this once before."

"Mr. Stom," Deeg addressed an older rougher version of Raw. "You need to be careful. Fifteen annuals ago the Queen put a lock on my memories. It was to protect me while I grew up on the Other Side and hide certain facts from the Sorceress when I returned. The Witch attempted to force her Viewer to dig past the magic. It was too much for him. He died."

"Stom careful, but if girl lying, _girl_ die." The shaggy man reached a partially gloved hand for her head. His message was clear. He had no qualms about tearing her brain apart if she wasn't what she claimed to be.

The Tin Man did the one thing he could do to help; he tightened his grip on his Princess's hand. The tiny squeeze of her fingers in return told him it was what she needed.

"Wait," Gerard called out. "Cain, you were a tin man, put her in a security hold. I don't want her fighting Stom."

"You son of a bitch." He glared at the dark haired man. "I won't hold her down while you hurt her."

"Have it your own way." Sam shrugged. "Doyle, secure the _princess_."

"My pleasure, boss." A large unkempt man ogled DG as he stepped forward.

"No, get back. Do. Not. Touch. Her!" Wyatt's voice was low and deadly. He'd seen an odd glint in the resistance leader's eyes. It was almost as if the dark haired man enjoyed the idea of forcing Cain to help them cause Deeg pain. "Kiddo…I'm sorry," he whispered."

"It's okay. If…well…I'd rather it be you." The hand she rested on the sleeve of his coat shook slightly. She gave him a quick brittle smile to hide the creeping feeling of impending claustrophobia. All the while telling herself that it was no different than sleeping in his arms at night, but it was and she knew it.

"I won't hurt you, Princess." He swung a leg over the log until he was straddling it. "Turn around with your back to me." He slowly reached around her with his right hand and held onto her left wrist and then did the same with his left hand and her right wrist. "Ya doing okay?" He felt her tremble as he crossed her arms in front of her and tucked her tightly against his chest.

"Yeah, just great." She had a blurry memory of rough hands digging into her wrists and keeping her from moving in her chair as the Sorceress had questioned her. She'd been helpless then as she was now. "Talk to me Tin Man," she whispered, needing to hear his voice, needing to know he was the one holding her down.

"Put your head on my shoulder with your face against my neck." Cain knew she was fighting panic with everything in her and glared at Sam Gerard. When this was over, they were going to have words.

Out of the corner of her eye, Deeg saw Stom's paw descending and buried her nose in Wyatt's neck. She had one quick moment of peace as his reassuring scent filled her. Then the pain began.

"Ahhh!" DG gasped, as the Viewer covered her temple with his palm. She tried to arch against Cain's body, to get away from the intense throbbing, but she couldn't move. She felt the Viewer's fingers reaching deep into her brain, searing, burning, and cutting until they hit the wall Lavender had placed long ago.

"Girl blocked by old magic," he muttered. He had one hand on the exposed side of her face and the other on the large sheet of metal two men were holding up behind them. All that was reflected back was fog.

"Try to get past it." Gerard urged. "We need to see what she's hidin', not just what she wants us to see."

"Hard, girl filled with much emotion. Strong. True." Stom was overwhelmed by intense feelings that she carried with her. There was sorrow, pain and love, all mixed in with the scent of man, gun smoke, leather and a tang of metal.

"But what's hidden behind that spell? Don't let her distract you." Sam insisted.

The Viewer pushed deeper again, attempting to follow his commander's orders, but when he hit against Lavender's magic, both he and Deeg cried out in pain. Her body went limp and she lost consciousness. Cain tipped his head until his cheek rested against hers. In doing so, his forehead brushed against the back of the paw on her face.

"Man of tin tied to girl," the old empath whispered, knowing he'd found one of the reasons for the girl's deep emotions. The thoughts and feelings created by the blonde man's accidental touch startled the Viewer and pushed him away from the locked memories into clearer stronger ones from almost two weeks ago.

_Gerard gasped when he saw the sheet metal filled with a picture of Adora being beaten by a Longcoat, as she tried to protect her husband. Then the image vanished into smoke, as a familiar, dark-haired, girl ran in, attacking the brutal men with nothing but a stick. _

_Shocked whispers filled the air as the crowd watched DG hammer open an iron maiden. The only recognizable feature of the man inside was the crystal blue of his pain filled eyes._

_Clear pictures skipped by in quick succession._ Cain knew they were from their trip across the Zone. He held onto her tighter as she shivered in his arms, reacting to memories of the Northern Island. He buried his lips in her hair _as the metal filled with a picture of an old house with a green roof. Flat farmland had wheat waving in the breeze and the older couple that he'd met at Milltown was talking with DG on a large porch. _

The woman in his arms moaned in sorrow. Her mouth worked, but no words came out. "Hushhh," he breathed into her hair. It would only complicate things if the resistance heard her calling her nurture units mom and dad. She was a princess of the O.Z. The lost youngest daughter of the Queen and the Prince Consort. Her identity was hard enough to prove without her mixed emotions clouding the issue.

"Tin Man," fell from her lips, as soft as a breath. Whatever demons she'd been fighting vanished and Stom grunted in response and moved her memories onward.

_The metal sheet filled with a clear picture of Finaqua and the hologram of Lavender Eyes as she sent Deeg on her search for Ahamo_. Many people in the crowd stared in awe at the first image they'd had of their ruler in annuals. Gone was their young vivacious Queen and in her place was a tired sad woman.

_There were quicker, but much duller flashes of DG and Azkadellia as children. Most of them dealt with Deeg trying to gain control over her magic. _ Cain was struck anew by how tiny and young she'd been at the time. Like any of the older people in attendance, he remembered the pictures of the Princess that had been broadcast during the official day of mourning when her death had been announced.

_Even Az looked young and fragile. It wasn't until after her possession that she became hard and old beyond her years._ Seeing these images made him realize how truly unprepared both girls had been to deal with the Witch in that cave.

If the people had been impressed when they saw the Queen, _they gasped in wonder as the Gray Gale gave the emerald to Deeg._ The original Dorothy was a legend that had been handed down over the years.

"That's enough!" A woman called out from the crowd. "Stop torturing the Princess. She is who she says she is!"

"This is powerful information especially since the Rainbows have returned, but we need to see it through." Gerard insisted and the seasoned fighters agreed. "All of the O.Z. is at stake."

_DG's voice cried out Cain's name in fear._ He looked in confusion at the woman in his arms, until he realized it was a reflection calling to him. Her cries came from information the Viewer was showing on the metal and wasn't happening in real time. He'd been paying attention to the power struggle among the resistance fighters and ignoring what Stom was showing them.

"_Tin Man, help me!" the panicked words tore from her, as she struggled in a tiny dark space. _This was the coffin she'd been locked in and it made his stomach tighten to be seeing it happen. No wonder she was haunted by claustrophobia. He held onto her tighter than before and it calmed her and the image of her. _She used her magic to free herself, all the while muttering his name. As he watched, he realized she hadn't been aware that she was calling to him._

People gasped when the _Black Tower appeared on the metal. Then the picture took them to the high balcony. The Sorceress was standing in a shaft of powerful green light. With a flick of her wrist she knocked DG over the side. But the girl fought her way back until she was reaching for her sister, begging Az to help defeat the Witch. _

_Suddenly two princesses stood side-by-side, gripping hands and the Wicked Witch towered over them. They never let go, as the Evil One threatened and tried to fight them. The girls simply held on tighter, until the green light vanished and the horror that had been destroying the Outer Zone for fifteen annuals was melted by the power of the House of Gale._

_The picture that filled the metal was of the field hospital set up on the ground floor of the Tower. DG was working frantically on a young man who was covered in blood. No one watching recognized that she was attempting CPR as blood oozed around her fingers on his chest._

"_No, you can't die," her voice echoed back from the image. "I don't even know your name."_

"_His name was Tommy Winsmore, Missy." Cora Nightingale joined DG's reflection in the metal._

"No, no," a woman from the crowd cried out. "Glinda help me, my boy is dead."

At Tommy's mom's outburst, Stom's hand slipped from the side of DG's face and he slid to the ground exhausted. "Princess not lie." He met Sam Gerard's eyes and nodded his head. "Witch dead. All must find peace."

Cain ignored questions that were coming from the people around him. Everyone either knew or was related to someone who was purported to have been in the final battle at the Tower.

"Get back, all of you," he shouted. His attention was on the pale-faced woman cradled in his arms. "You've already done enough."

"Tin Man?" Her eyes fluttered open and she blinked at her surroundings.

"Right here, Kiddo." He picked her up and sat her on the ground with her back leaning against the log they'd been sitting on.

"Is the Viewer all right?" She rubbed her eyes trying to get them to focus.

"Stom fine." He knelt beside Cain. "Princess cold."

The tin man shrugged out of his duster and wrapped it around her shoulders. "You're hands are like ice."

"Give her some of this." Gerard knelt beside the group, holding out a flask. "Her lips 'er blue."

"Thanks." Cain accepted the whisky container and wrapped both of DG's hands around it. Still crouched beside her, he turned on the balls of his feet, brought back his right arm and punched Sam Gerard in the jaw.

"What are you going?" Deeg leaned forward and pulled him back. One look and she could see he was furious. "We just convinced them we don't mean any harm."

The two men snarled at each other, but Cal Winterburn subdued his immediate superior and DG kept her hand on her Tin Man's shoulder.

"He hurt you, Princess, and made sure I was part of it." Wyatt unscrewed the top of the flask. "Now drink this. It'll warm you up some." He recognized the signs, she'd been using large portions of her magic, but he wasn't sure when or why. "There's a price for harming a member of the Royal family and it is long past time that people were reminded of it."

"Tin Man right. Must reestablish order. Peace must come to world or all will die." Stom patted her head gently.

"Ick, that tastes terrible!" Deeg coughed as the homemade liquor burned all the way down her throat.

"Take another swallow." He guided the flask back to her lips. "It's getting dark, the rain will be starting soon. Will you be all right while I get our tent set up?"

"I'm fine." She huddled deeper into his coat. She wasn't fine and they both knew it, but they also knew she was determined not to let it show.

"We'll stay with the Princess, while you see to things, Mr. Cain." Tommy Winsmore's mother and a short slim man offered. "We've got Stom here. No harm will come to her."

"I'd appreciate that." He gave Sam Gerard a warning glare. His message said loud and clear, 'stay away or I'll hit you again.' "These nice folks have offered to keep you company." He held DG's hands and tried to warm them with his own. "You gonna be all right."

"Of course I am. I don't need anyone watching…"

"I do," he whispered. "You didn't see what you went through while he was searching your memories, I did."

"I'll be fine, Wyatt." There wasn't anything she wouldn't do for him when he had that shattered look in his eyes.

Deeg watched as her Tin Man strode away before turning a tentative smile on the couple beside her.

"Your Highness, I'm Sarah Winsmore-Turner and this is Harold Turner, my husband."

"Would you get Sam Gerard for me. I need to speak with him." DG did her best to sound like a princess of the O.Z. She saw the resistance leader at the med tent having his split lip attended to.

"Sure thing, Ma'am." Harold took off and returned moments later with Sam.

"What can I do for you, Princess?" The dark-haired man held a cold wet cloth to his mouth. The Turners had backed off to give them privacy.

"You are never to hurt Wyatt Cain again." She glared. "Be as angry at me and my family as you like, but leave him out of your need for revenge. He's been through enough. He spent eight annuals in a tin suit watching a memory loop of his family being tortured. You go after him again and you'll have me to deal with. Do I make myself clear?"

"We all suffered under the Witch…"

"Do I make myself clear, Mr. Gerard?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Good. We'll talk again in the morning. The Queen requests the aid of any who are loyal to the House of Gale. The Witch is gone, but there is still much to do to rebuild the Outer Zone." For the first time DG felt as if she were part of this unreal world she'd been hurtled into.

"Your Highness," Sarah spoke softly after the resistance leader had left. "Don't be too hard on Sam. He's a good man…there are things…they aren't mine to talk about."

"You're Tommy Winsmore's mother?" Deeg remembered the boy she'd tried to save in the field hospital after the fight for the Tower.

"Yes I am." She blinked quickly to keep from crying. "One of the memories Stom showed us was of you trying to save him."

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more. I'm not a healer and he'd been hurt badly. All I could do was hold his hand while he died." DG shivered at the memory.

"Thank you, Your Highness," the older woman cried. "He wasn't alone, that's something."

"What about Becca Turner?" Harold asked. "They were promised to one another and went off to fight together. Did she survive the battle?"

"I'm sorry, no." DG blinked at tears that filled her eyes. "Old Cora told me Becca died in the assault on the Tower. Tommy wanted me to tell her 'that she was right, the legend was true, that she was his Cariad'. I couldn't tell her, so I'll tell you instead."

"Oh thank, Glinda." Sarah gripped her husband's hand. "He finally believed. He finally had faith in something more than a gun. If they had lived, they could have been married by the priests."

"I don't understand." The lost princess of the O.Z. looked from one to the other.

"You've been gone a long time, there's lots ya gotta relearn, but you and your man wear Cariad rings so I suspect you understand about that." Harold held out his own hand that had a plane silver band on the third finger of his left hand. "There was many who didn't believe in the old legends. They didn't want to wait 'till they met their true one. Tommy felt that way, but Becca was convinced that he was her Cariad. Sarah and I thought she was right, so we let them be promised to one another. It must have eased his mind some to finally believe that she'd be waiting for him."

"Viewer way easy." Stom declared. "What is seen with heart, not hidden, always there to know."

"Harold you're confusing the girl and Stom, you're not much help either." The older woman saw the way the princess was staring at their rings. "My Karl died early on as did his Stella. We had young kids to raise with war breaking out all around us so we banded together. We married. As much as I love Harold, it isn't like it was with Karl and I know that when he dies, it'll be Stella he meets on the Other Road."

"We did what was practical."

"Spoken like a man," Sarah snorted and then whispered to DG, "Besides a body has needs to be met."

"Princess, I've got things all set up." Cain had kept a careful eye on Deeg and the others in the camp. It had been a relief when, Cal Winterburn, the second-in-command had returned his weapons. He wasn't a trusting soul by nature and what had happened in the last two hours didn't do anything to improve his attitude.

The Viewer looked up as Wyatt approached. "Stom sorry hurt Princess, needed to know. Truth needed to be seen."

"I'm glad you survived it." She smiled at him as Cain helped her to her feet.

"Sorceress used force. Used pain. That kill Viewer, not Princess memories."

"Let's go," Wyatt urged. "There's a hot meal waiting for us." He nodded at the small group of resistance fighters and glaring Easter Guild members in the distance. He put his left arm around DG and supported her weight as they headed toward the tent he'd put up.

...

Gerard joined Stom as the couple walked slowly away. "She threatened me if I gave Cain a difficult time. Should I be worried?" It was hard for him to believe the small slim girl had the powers he'd seen demonstrated by way of the Viewer.

"Princess looked throughout the East for love. Found it locked in tin suit. Not what she seeking, but what she find." The Viewer turned sad eyes on his commander. "She protect what is hers. Sam must forgive. Adora wait on Other Road for Sam not Wyatt."

...

"What the hell was so important that you depleted your magic?" Cain settled DG on her bedroll before he handed her a cup of hot coffee and a covered plate. He recognized the symptoms from the first night.

"I had to protect Stom. One Viewer already died trying to get past the magic that has locked out my memories." She sipped the dark liquid with her hands wrapped around the cup absorbing warmth from the metal.

"You take too many chances."

"The hell I do." Deeg put her plate aside and turned toward him. "If something had happened to Stom while he was searching for answers, Gerard would have shot us, no questions asked. I had to help the only way I knew how. Please Cain, you have to trust me about when and where to use magic."

"It's hard when I see what it does to you. When I saw what happened to you when I had my back turned." He cupped the side of her face and rubbed one large thumb over the slope of her cheek."

"I can't do anything about what has already happened, but I can give you some reassurance about my power." She leaned into his hand enjoying his touch. "Somehow I've learned to direct it, but I can't properly gauge the intensity needed for a task. When something is vital, I err on the side of too much. That's why I end up with the shivers when the day is done."

"That's something I can do something about." He took off his vest and put it at the head of his bedroll with his holster and then unfastened his duster that she was still wearing. "Come on lay down." He pulled her into his arms with both blankets over them and his coat on top of her.

"Wyatt, you've not going to get any sleep this way and you were awake most of last night." Even as she said it, she snuggled closer to his warmth. It felt so wonderful to have him pressed along the length of her body.

"Sure it's not that I frightened you this afternoon?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." She turned over and caught traces of worry on his face.

"When I held you in a security hold," his words were bitter and angry.

"No, of course not." She caressed his cheek to sooth away any signs of concern. "I was so thankful it was you. When Stom came near me that first time, I was about a second away from throwing myself into your arms. The only reason I didn't was because I was afraid it would give Gerard something to use against us."

"I've got ya now." He pulled her closer running his hand up and down her back. He didn't know if it was exhaustion or his fierce need to protect her, but tonight, all he wanted was to have her close and never let her go. The necessity to know she was beside him and warm took precedence over the raging desires that had plagued him recently.

"That feels good," she moaned softly as he massaged away her tense muscles. She lay in his arms as he breathing became deep and heavy and the hand on her back stopped moving.

"He sleeps," she whispered and kissed his neck. When that didn't waken him she felt safe enough to add, "I love you Tin Man." Then as the rains started to beat a steady staccato on the canvas above them, her eyes flutter closed and she slept too.

**TBC**


	9. Conviction Of Things Not Seen

**Rating: **PG-13

**Pairing: **CDG

**Disclaimer: **Don't own them

**Note: **Thanks to Celia Stanton for her editing, both times. You kept me sane and gave me perspective when I needed it.

**Note 2: **The title and the quote DG uses later on are from the Bible. There is a tiny nod to another of my favorite fandoms in this chapter and DG makes an Other Side reference to another.

**Ch – 9 – Conviction Of Things Not Seen**

by

_**Lattelady**_

"_I'm gonna be here for you from now on_

_This you know somehow_

_You've been stretched to the limits but it's alright now". _– Making Memories Of Us by Keith Urban

…………………

The night was dark and stormy. Wind whistled through the trees and thick clouds obscured the moons. Heavy rain beat against canvas tents, branches and leaves masking the sounds of armedmen moving carefully though the forest toward the resistance camp.

The first sentry died without warning, his throat slit from behind. The second had a moment of fear followed by an adrenaline spike when a Longcoat materialized a foot in front of him. Flash from a pistol fired at pointblank range blinded him, and pain seared through his chest; one last gasp and he never saw or felt anything again.

At the sound of the first shot, Cain grabbed his sidearm and rolled DG beneath him, before he was awake enough to register what was happening. He took one look at her confused, frightened face and covered her mouth with his free hand to keep her from screaming and giving away their position.

Deeg woke with the sounds of battle echoing in her ears and the feeling of a body pressing into hers. She bucked in panic, terrified she was being buried alive again. Then her vision cleared and she recognized her Tin Man above her.

"Hold still," he ordered in a whisper.

Her breathing hitched deep her throat and she nodded, trying to give him assurances that she didn't feel. He was just easing his hand from her mouth when she heard a strange sound. Cain identified it immediately as slugs ripping through canvas. He ducked until his cheek was pressed to hers, and covered both their heads with his arms. He knew he was too heavy to be laying on her without support, and hoped to hell she could breathe, but there was no cover in their flimsy tent. He was all that stood between her and a bullet.

When their canteen, less than six inches away bounced in the air and hit him on the shoulder, Deeg finally understood what he was doing. "No, Wyatt, you promised," she gasped and shoved against his chest. Less than six hours earlier, he'd given her his word that he wouldn't take a bullet for her, and here he was shielding her with his body as enemy fire rained down around them. "Dammit, don't do this," she begged when she realized he was too strong, too heavy, and too determined for her to dislodge.

"Hold still." His rough whisper was almost drowned out by an explosion that pelted debris against their tent. She was all that counted; he had to get her out of this alive, no matter what it took. He could feel her panicking, but that was to be expected. What caught him by surprise were the tears that slipped between her closed lids and dampened both of their cheeks.

"Cain, it's Gerard. I'm coming in," a hushed, unidentifiable voice called from outside their tent. Moments later, the rain soaked man crawled in on his stomach. He was met by an icy blue glare and the muzzle of a pistol two inches from his nose. "We got no time for personal vendettas, Tin Man. Gotta get Her Highness outta here."

"Give me one good reason why I should trust you." Wyatt rested his weight on his left forearm beside Deeg's head, his hand nestled in her hair. His other arm held his weapon straight and steady as he sighted down the barrel.

"'Cause Adora did." Guarded brown eyes met cool blue ones.

Everything stood still for Cain. Nothing was real except his target and the sounds of battle. Adora's name echoed in his mind, but it sounded out of place, out of time. No one spoke about her to him; even DG had only asked about her once. Now this man, this _stranger,_ had evoked her memory twice in a short span of hours. He became aware of his fingers threading through soft tangles of curls and a wiggling woman beneath him. "Stop it, Deeg," he ordered without taking his eyes off his target.

"No!" She bucked beneath him and pulled her arms free from between them.

"Hold still, dammit. How am I supposed to protect you if you won't do as I say?" He wrapped his arm around her, holding her closer to him as he glared at the resistance leader and growled, "That's not a real convincing argument considering she's six months dead." He cocked his weapon as something dark curled in his belly.

"I'd a died ta prevent it if I coulda." Sam's weapon remained unflinchingly trained on the Tin Man. He'd longed to have him in that position since he'd learned of his existence. Though 'Dora had been right; Zero and his Longcoats hadn't killed her husband. Believing her wouldn't have changed the nature of their relationship, but it would have prevented heated arguments that had cut wedges of time out of the few years he'd known her.

"Not good enough!" Cain said through gritted teeth

DG moved quickly. Her hand slid from where it was resting on his shoulder, down the length of his arm. She pressed tighter against his body to extend her reach, until the tips of her fingers brushed against his wrist. "No, Wyatt, give him a chance."

"Like the one he gave you, when he sicced the Viewer on you?" Cain took a moment to look down into her eyes. They were smoky blue, filled with sorrow, and bubbling over with anger directed straight at him. "How do we know he isn't the one behind all the ruckus out there?"

"Hell, if I was, you'd both be dead and I'd be in my tent warm and dry." Gerard was losing his temper fast. "Don't be so damn pigheaded. We gotta get Her Highness outta here."

DG was fuming at both men. They made her insides churn with pain and anger that only added to her confusion. The little trip down memory lane that Stom had taken her on was too fresh and vivid in her mind, making it difficult to sort through her feelings and the facts. Wyatt had broken his word, something she thought she'd never live to see. Sam Gerard's careless mention of Adora hinted at more than friendship. She could feel Cain's grief as if it were her own; at the same time she was jealous of the love and devotion that belonged to the dead woman.

"Dammit both of you! This pissing contest is getting us nowhere." She lost her tenuous grip on her tempter. "Why don't you shoot each other and get it over with, or better yet, whip em out and see whose is larger. That way I won't get caught in the crossfire."

"Deeg—" Cain's jaw dropped at her expression. The meaning was clear even if he'd never heard it before.

"Don't you '_Deeg_' me, Wyatt Cain." She struggled to roll on her stomach, but he kept her hips pinned with his. She had to be satisfied with shooting Sam a menacing look over her shoulder. "Gerard, are you testing me or are you too stupid to remember what I told you?" If she had more confidence in her control, she would have used magic to zap him, but since she was seething with anger, she was afraid she'd fry him rather than give him the sharp sting she intended.

"Now, Your Highness, I wasn't--" The resistance man used his most placating tone, but his words were drowned out by another explosion hitting the ground in front of their tent. Both men ducked. Cain and DG fought for control, each wanting to cover the other as their shelter was bombarded with rocks.

"What the hell, Deeg? Keep down." His upper body collapsed over hers, burying her face against his neck. "You stay where I put you. I'm not telling you again!"

"The hell I will!" She poked him in the ribs and wiggled beneath him, but it didn't do her any good. He kept her pinned in place.

"She always that much trouble?" Gerard grunted when his ears stopped ringing.

"You don't know the half of it." Wyatt finally gained control of her free hand and secured it above her had.

DG's right cheek was pushed into the bedroll. She could feel the pounding of Cain's heart through her Tin Man's neck as it pressed against her left ear. His scent and the feel of his body surrounded her, but instead of soothing her as it had in the past, it filled her with pangs of doubt and worry. "Both of you shut up. Unless it has something to do about getting us out of this hell hole, I don't want to hear it." She bucked one last time, but it was a battle she wasn't going to win.

"What've you got in mind, Gerard?" the Tin Man growled and absentmindedly stroked Deeg's arm. Every instinct shouted at him to head out of the tent and go hunting Longcoats, but he couldn't leave as long as she was in danger. There was no way in hell that he'd leave her unguarded. Sam Gerard was an unknown quantity and that translated into 'not to be trusted'.

"We reinforced the med tent with sandbags ta protect the doc and her patients." Sam tried not to watch the subconscious way Cain soothed the Princess. It made him feel as if he were spying on a private moment. "If we're careful, we can get there. It's ranin' somethin' fierce. That'll give us some cover, but we gotta stay down, way down. Them snipers out there are damn good at hittin' what they aim at."

Cain knew they'd been lucky so far, but he wasn't willing to count on luck to keep them alive. But before he made a decision, he wanted one more piece of information. "What prompted the attack?" he asked carefully, holding Deeg closer against him. For the moment she was safe, but if she was the target, moving her was too great a risk. "Are they aiming at anything in specific?"

"Naw, just tryin' ta--"

"You think they attacked because I'm here?" Deeg cupped Wyatt's cheek, pulling his attention from Gerard. All of her anger was momentarily forgotten as she searched his stoic expression for an answer. "Men are out there dying because of me?"

"I have to know, Princess," he whispered and covered her hand with his.

"Your Highness, it isn't like that, and if it was, that's how it should be." Gerard watched the Princess and the Tin Man's almost silent communication. They simply looked at one another. When they did speak, it was with as few words as possible, but a wealth of emotion and information was exchanged. It made Sam ache with loneliness. That's how he and 'Dora had been.

"Sam's right, Kiddo." Cain wasn't simply talking about the resistance fighters and he could tell by the look on her face that she knew it.

"But you promised. You gave me your word," her voice broke.

"I know. I thought I could do it, but I can't." Cain saw her eyes mist over as pain and anger warred for dominance. "I'm sorry, Deeg." He knew that if it were in his power to keep her alive or unharmed he'd do it, even if it cost him his life.

"I…we'll talk about this later." It felt as if time had stopped since they'd been woken to the sound of gunfire, but she knew it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, minutes they were wasting while others were dying.

"You never really answered my question, Gerard." Cain glared at the other man. "Do they know the Princess is here? It hadn't been in our plan to go public with her identity, but that got shot to hell with your demands of proof."

"I'm right sorry 'bout that." Sam fidgeted, embarrassed by the deep emotions the couple were unaware they were displaying. "Best guess from the pattern of shootin' is that it's a random attack. Them Longcoats boys like ta use the tents for target practice ta see who they can flush out."

"Okay then." Cain nodded as his mind was made up. "We'll be right behind you." He glared warningly. "Just remember, if anything happens, you're my first shot."

It took them twenty minutes to crawl from their tent to the med tent, a trip that could be walked, under normal circumstances, in two minutes. They moved carefully from rock to rock, seeking shelter from pouring rain and enemy snipers. DG hated every second of it. As she blinked water out of her eyes, she told herself that at least it was wet enough that the rivers of mud weren't sticking to her clothes, but that did very little to make the trip more bearable. Thunder echoing around them, made it hard to distinguish where the gunfire was coming from. She'd never been in a firefight before and hoped to God she never would be again. When the battle for the Tower had taken place, she'd been high on the balcony away from the action instead of caught in the middle of it. Her fight had been just as deadly as the one that had taken place on the ground, but it had been much quieter. She was terrified, angry and hurt as she followed behind Gerard, with Cain at her side.

They were soaked to the skin by the time they rounded the wall of sandbags that guarded the entrance to the med tent.

"You two stay in here." Sam nodded to Cain and DG. "Password is _firefly_, you answer with _serenity_ when we come back or we'll be shootin' our way in."

"I can help." The Tin Man protested.

"Yeah ya can, by keeping her alive, and them too." Gerard pointed to the old women and young children who had congregated with the medic in the tent. "We'll do the rest." He hand signaled to five men who appeared out of the night. They headed out with weapons drawn and death in their eyes.

"You take that end and I'll cover the other." DG indicated the sandbag barrier that protected the tent flap from stray shots. It would mean leaving their fortified shelter and being exposed to the rain and wind again, but she didn't care. She had a weapon in her hand that she knew how to use. She'd be damned if she'd huddle in the back like a small child or old woman while others died for her. "And don't try and talk me out of it, Wyatt Cain."

He would have much rather had her stay in the large tent with sandbags stacked against the canvas walls, but in the short time he'd known the Princess, he'd learned it was wise to choose his battles. This was one he'd already lost. "All right, but stay down, keep your eyes peeled and you're not to get further than an arm's length from my left side at any time." He stared her down expecting an argument, but none came.

"Fine," she clipped the one word in his direction as her chin rose and her eyes sparked. It was evident any further angry retort would come later.

Cain looked over at the tall, grey-haired, female medic who was trying to pretend she wasn't witness to the Princess and the Tin Man's angry words. "Do you have some raingear the Princess could borrow?" His coat and vest had been left behind in the pile of blankets as they scrambled for boots and weapons before following Gerard into the night.

"I've got an old tarp. It should be large enough to keep the rain off both of you." The doc dug among her supply of blankets for a faded brown and green length of slicker material.

Moments later, they were crouched behind the two feet by two feet square blockade. Cain tucked the long side of the tarp between two layers of bags, making a lean-to for them to duck under. "This won't protect us from anything but rain."

"I know." She huddled under the material, unsure what to say. She was angry with herself for being jealous of Adora, when he'd been feeling nothing but pain, and heartsick that he'd broken his word and had been intending to do so again.

"You sure you're up for this?" He didn't like that she was out there with him, but knew nothing short of physically detaining her would have kept her in the protected tent.

"You made damn sure I was." She leaned her right shoulder against the bags to give her gun hand extra support.

"I know, Babe, I just didn't think you'd need to put it into practice so soon." He reached over his left shoulder, needing to touch her. When he found her less than two inches away he moved closer so his back brushed hers.

"Don't do that. Don't be nice to me. I'm too angry to be nice in return." She tried to pull away, but his hand curled on her shoulder, holding her in place.

"Deeg, look at me." He felt her turn until her cheek was resting against the middle of his back and her soft breath was warm on his neck. "Remember, you may have less than a second to make up your mind to shoot. Don't rely on the password, read their body language. It'll tell you what their intentions are."

"I…"DG's chin wobbled and she couldn't go on, so she nodded, hoping he understood.

"You'll be fine. Just lean against me, Princess and we'll both be fine." He smiled as she allowed him to take her weight for a moment. "I've got your back and you've got mine."

Lightning crackled above the trees, sending the camp into stark relief. The thunder that followed drowned out the sounds of rifle fire in the distance.

"Tin Man," she gasped and covered his hand that was still resting on her shoulder.

"Right here."

"Thank you." She shivered and knew he could feel it, but she was beyond caring.

"Anytime, Princess." He squeezed her fingers and then slowly pulled away.

DG rested her pistol on her left hand, where she griped the edge of one of the sandbags. It kept her arm from trembling and her wrist from cramping. As the minutes ticked by, she leaned more and more of her weight on Cain's broad warm back.

"Deeg, be careful. If I have to move suddenly, you're gonna end up flat in the mud."

"Good point." She straightened and turned away, leaning forward on the balls of her feet.

A high-pitched whirring noise blocked the sound of thunder. She instinctively looked up, though she knew all she'd see would be the inside of the slicker sheet.

"Incoming! Get back!" Cain shouted over his shoulder to the people in the shelter behind him. He grabbed DG around the waist and threw them away from the sandbags, trying to get as far into the protection of the tent as possible.

Moments later the world erupted around them and dirt and debris pelted their backs.

"Back off, Skree," a rough little voice shouted. Red Hat jumped out from his hiding place in the branches above and ran his fighting pike through the Longcoat who had dared to attack the section of camp he'd been left to guard. "Be gone with you!" his order became a gasp, as his fallen enemy got off one last shot before he died. The bullet hit the Munchkin in the upper abdomen.

The night was suddenly quiet; even the thunder had moved off into the distance. All that could be heard was the fall of heavy rain and whispers of the pass code, "Firefly," being answered with the response, "Serenity," as shadowy figures moved from the outskirts of the camp, toward the middle.

"No," Deeg cried out, when she saw the body of the little man laying across all that was left of the sandbag barrier she'd been hiding behind. She scrambled away from Cain before the Tin Man could prevent her escape.

"It's the Queen who fell from the sky," Red Hat muttered as he saw her worried face above his and felt her hands trying to hold his gaping wound together.

"Shhh, don't try to talk. We'll get you inside and the doc will have you fixed up in no time." She blinked rain out of her eyes and fought for composure as she nodded to Cain to pick him up.

"No, let me die here, under the sky like a true warrior." He reached for his pike and handed it to Deeg. "The power of the Eastern Guild joins with the Queen who came from the sky…" His breathing grew shallow and his eyes fluttered. "Tin Man, face me toward home. My Violet-May waits for me on the Road on…on…the other side."

Wyatt carefully shifted him. "There you go, Red Hat."

"You will protect her." He whispered and took one final breath. "She is your…" The words wouldn't form. The Munchkin grew cold and still and stared at Cain with sightless eyes.

"No!" DG cried. She moved quickly to her knees beside the fallen warrior. Running her hand along his neck she searched for the artery, but found no answering beat. Even in the dark she could see there was no rise and fall of his chest or hear his labored breathing. "No, not again." She would not let Red Hat die as Tommy had.

She pinched his nose, tipped back his head and gave him two quick, even puffs of air and then moved to his side to begin chest compressions.

"Deeg, what the hell are you doing?" Cain's voice cut through the quiet of the crowd that was forming. Even Sam Gerard remained silent, staring in wonder at what the Princess was doing.

"One and two and three and four." She turned to glare at Cain but never stopped her compressions. "CPR. Do you know rescue breathing?" Rain ran down her face and wind blew hair in her eyes. She shook her head to clear her vision but nothing helped. No matter what she did, she was still trying to perform CPR on an odd little man, in the middle of a storm, in a land where witches and magic were possible. It all seemed surreal.

"Stop, DG, stop, he's dead. There is nothing you can do." Wyatt gripped her shoulders, trying to get through to her.

"Get away from me!" she snapped. "Don't touch me. I have to try." She fought Cain and she struggled to breathe while she kept track of her count. She pushed down, using the weight of her body and not just her arms, as she'd been taught. A little voice kept whispering that if she could just get to the other side of this, she'd wake up and everything would be back to normal.

"Princess." She didn't hear the gentle voice of the middle-aged medic. "Princess, you have to stop." Soft, strong hands covered DG's. "It's too late. This won't help him. There's almost no blood for the heart to circulate."

"Get out of my way!" Deeg shook off the doctor's grasp. Never taking her eyes off Red Hat, she repositioned her hands and continued where she left off, more determined than ever. He was the first person she'd met in the Zone in this crazy mixed up dream. If they started dying, Glitch and then Cain would be next. She had to stop the chain reaction before it started. She couldn't lose…her hands faltered as her mind pictured Wyatt lying cold and still, his sightless eyes staring back at her but seeing nothing. "No…no…not gonna happen."

"Look for yourself." The Doc held up a lantern that gave off thin yellow light in a small circle around the Munchkin. Mixed in with mud and rain was a pool of dark blood. "Only thing that bleeds like that's the liver. When that happens, the lucky ones die right quick. Nothing anyone could do for him."

"No, I won't accept that!" The Princess shouted. "You people can remove half of a man's brain, but you can't fix this? How is that possible?" She intensified her efforts. This time she focused her light below her clasped hands, willing it to search the damaged tissue and repair it. The area beneath her fingers glowed, but nothing happened. Her magic didn't recognize torn organs or vessels.

"Deeg, no," Cain shouted as he realized what she was trying to do.

"Let me see what I can do, Mr. Cain." The medic glared at him. "Stay close, the Princess will need you very soon." She turned back to DG and attempted one more time to reason with her. "You must accept that there are things that not even you, with your magic, can do, Your Highness." When the Doc received no response she looked over the girl's shoulder and nodded to Cain. He wrapped his arms around Deeg, pinning her elbows at her sides and pulled her away from Red Hat's body.

"Noooo," she howled, fighting him with the same tenacity she'd used when she'd thought she was attacking Longcoats beating a helpless man and his family. He wouldn't let her go.

"Easy, Babe." He clung to her as she flailed in his arms.

"Please, Wyatt…" Her throat constricted and it became harder to struggle.

"I've got ya, Deeg." He wrapped his body around hers as they sat on the ground. He pulled onto his lap and rocked her as if she were a child who needed comforting, though with her shirt plastered to her skin and the touch and feel of her so close to his body, he was never more aware of how much of a woman she was. "I've got ya, Babe," he whispered against her hair and ear. His entire focus was on her.

She shook her head, refusing to listen to him. If she did, she'd relinquish control to the huge wall of emotion that threatened to wash over her head. If she took the emotional support her Tin Man was offering, everything would fall apart.

"I've…ah got it…I'm okay," she whispered dispassionately and went limp in his arms. Too exhausted to talk or think, she rested her head on his shoulder. DG heard him speaking quietly to her, but she didn't understand the words. She was too busy pulling together small bits and pieces of her magic to shore up her flagging spirit.

"Wyatt, where's my gu-weapon?" 'Be correct,' her inner voice chided her. 'Remember he never referred to either of the side arms as guns. Show him you're in control or you'll never get away, never get free of this nightmare and be allowed to cry it out in private.'

"Here," he reached behind him to where he'd stuck it in the waistband of his pants.

DG snorted as he handed her the small pistol. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask how he fit anything else in those tight pants of his, but she was afraid if the words left her mouth she'd begin laughing hysterically. Frenzied screams and tears would only be a step behind. It was best if she left that question and never revisited it. The subject of the Tin Man's pants was definitely off limits.

"Your Highness, Red Hat wanted ya ta have this." Gerard stood over her holding the tiny man's fighting pike.

"It should go to his family." She looked at the resistance leader, hardly recognizing him. Her memory kept flitting in and out. Making enough sense of words to string together into coherent sentences was an effort that was almost beyond her.

"He ain't got any, leastways none that's among the livin'."

"Captain Sam right," Blue Hat stepped forward. "Sir Red wanted Queen from the sky to have it, Queen take it. With pike from Clan Red at your side, all of Eastern Guild will bow to your rule." He bobbed his head and struck his chest over his heart with his right fist, pledging his honor, his strength, and what remained of his people to the Princess of Light.

"I…I…ah…thank-you." She wanted to tell them that she wasn't a Queen and never would be one, but the words wouldn't form. Instead, she took the offered stick and pulled out of Wyatt's arms. It was then thatshe realized she was soaking wet and it was still raining. At least she understood why she was cold.

Cain scowled at Gerard. "Is the camp safe enough for us to go back?" The two men had put aside their animosity while trying to protect the princess, but now it was crackling to the surface again.

"Wouldn't be standin' out here yappin' in the rain if it weren't."

"The Longcoats?" Cain let his question hang in the air.

"The ones who attacked won't be botherin' anyone ever again." Sam shrugged and looked around. "Guards er posted and not likely to be caught nappin'. I got it covered. You got more important things ta see to." He nodded toward DG. She was digging through the rubble of what was left of the sandbag wall they'd hidden behind.

"What ya looking for, Kiddo?" Wyatt knelt beside her, one hand on her shoulder and the other pushing her wet hair off her face.

"I'm not sure. I think I lost something here." Her voice broke as she looked into his concerned eyes.

"Yeah, I think you did too, but you're not going to find it tonight." He put his arms around her and helped her to her feet. With every step he took back to their tent, he damned the Queen for sending them on this mission. He damned himself for taking Deeg out of the Tower. He damned life in general for allowing her to be caught up in a mess that didn't seem to have any end to it.

The damage to their tent was far less than either had expected. Despite bullet holes in the canvas, there were only a few wet spots and those weren't anywhere important. The blankets, bedrolls and packs were dry.

"You need to get out of those wet clothes, boots off first." He held out his hand while she balanced on one leg to pull off one and then the other, followed by her socks.

"Hand me my bag, I have a dry blouse in there…not much else…" DG stared down at her dark, heavy, wet skirt and wished she had a nice warm pair of sweatpants.

He raised his left eyebrow at her and looked her over from head to painted toes. She was standing barefoot on her blankets; her shirt out of her skirt and its hem barely skimming her hips.

"Ah…try this instead." He pulled out one of the three shirts he'd brought with him.

"Yeah, good idea," she cleared her throat. "It'll…ah…well…"

"Yeah." He nodded. The more she was covered, the happier he was going to be.

"Cain," Sam Gerard called from outside the tent.

"What da you want?" He stepped out into the rain rather than inviting the resistance fighter in. Wyatt had been married enough years to recognize the look of a woman who was about to undress and too tired to guard her own privacy. He would do it for her.

"I noticed you two were travelin' light, thought ya might want some dry clothes." Sam held up a sack. "You and me 're 'bout the same size." He'd noticed that right off. 'Dora seemed to like her men tall and muscular, though that was where the similarities between them ended. "The Turners gave me some things for Her Highness. They belonged ta Becca. Said they'd be right honored if the Princess used 'em. Help her blend in some in these mountains. Keep her warm and dry, too."

"Ahhh…much obliged." Cain took the bundle, wanting to say more, but the time wasn't right.

"How she holdin' up?" The resistance fighter motioned toward the tent with its lone occupant.

"As well as can be expected," Wyatt sighed. "She took Red Hat's death hard. It was personal to her."

The small cantankerous man had only been a member of Gerard's resistance cell for a short time, but he wasn't taking it so easy, either. "I gotta admit it's a refreshin' change to know a Royal cares, after all the years under Azkadellia's heel." He'd seen, by way of Stom, that the oldest princess had been possessed by ancient wickedness, but DG's devotion to the people of the O.Z. went an even longer way toward restoring his faith in the Crown. "Tell Her Highness he died in battle and how important that is to the Eastern Guild. It might help some."

Cain pursed his lips, unsure how much consolation she'd find in the beliefs of the Munchkins. "We'll talk more in the morning."

"That we surely will," Sam muttered as he headed back to the tent he shared with the Viewer. There was still the issue of 'Dora to settle with Cain and he was damn sure they were going to settle it before either of them went on their way.

"Deeg," Wyatt turned to find her sitting on her blanket with her legs tucked under her. She was wearing his shirt and toweling her hair dry, but her attention wasn't on the task. She was staring at the far wall where she'd hung her skirt and blouse over her travel bag. Beside it was an odd lacy garment that from the shape appeared to be an Other Side piece of female underclothing. He had to shake his head to keep the image of the light blue object against her skin from clouding his vision.

"Deeg, the Turners sent you some things." He knelt and put the bag in front of her as he looked for the items that were for him. In his search, his hand snagged soft white cotton that he recognized as woman's sleepwear. "If you'd rather…" He pulled it out for her to see. "If you'd be more comfortable?" he offered. She looked tiny, almost fragile after all that had happened but since putting on his shirt, she also looked protected. It was nonsense and he knew it, but he didn't want her to change.

"I'd rather, um…" she huddled into the roomy material of his shirt and wrapped her arms around her body; unsure how to tell him she didn't want to. She was wearing exactly what she wanted to go to bed in every night for the rest of her life. "If it's all right with you I'll just…" She'd never understood the old cliché of wearing a man's clothing, but she did now. The feel and scent of him that clung to it made her feel safe.

"It's fine." He smiled gently and danced his fingers along her cheek.

"You're still all wet." She blinked, looking at him as if only now realizing he had gotten drenched too.

"Yeah, I am. Give me a second and I'll get changed." He stuffed Becca's nightgown deep into the sack and pulled out a pair of old but clean men's drawstring pants and a t-shirt.

The Tin Man turned away and quickly changed. Once or twice he looked over his shoulder, but DG was still staring straight head at the opposite side of the tent. The only difference in her posture was that she was hugging the sack containing Becca Turner's clothes tightly to her chest.

"Hey Princess," he knelt beside her again, not needing to see her stormy blue eyes to know how upset she was.

"Most of the clothes have never been worn," her voice broke as she indicated the bag from the Turners. "With all the shortages, it must have taken them a long time to collect and make them. A family would do that for a daughter who was about to marry."

"They wanted you to have them." He'd hoped she wouldn't realize the significance of the gift, but she had. He'd known as soon as he'd seen the traditional bride's night outfit with its fitted top that hugged the waist and flared into a full skirt. All of it with large easy to access buttons down the front.

"I can't do this, Wyatt," she whispered and set aside the clothing. "What kind of place is this where a child is possessed by an evil Witch and begins a reign of terror that rips families apart, kills thousands, both young and old; men can be imprisoned in metal suits and forced to watch for years as their loved ones are tortured? Then when it is finally over, and the killing should stop, the hate that was bred, keeps on killing; people keep on dying."

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't be part of all this." She waved her arms above her head in frustration. "Those people out there expect me to make a difference. The only difference I made is that they are dying and so are their children."

"Don't say that!" He gripped her shoulders, pulling her up onto her knees and pressing her body against his. Her words threatened the one thing he believed in. "You do make a difference. You are the only one who can." If she gave up, she might as well have left him locked in his iron cage.

"No, no, that's crazy talk. I'm the cause, not the solution."

"You're wrong! It's because of you there's hope still left in the Zone. The Munchkins know it and so do the Turners. Even men like Gerard recognize it." He gripped her tighter to keep from shaking her as the truth spilled out. "You made us believe. Hell, you made _me_ believe. Don't you dare take that away."

"You're saying I've given you faith?" Her brows shot up. She'd never met a man who was more of a realist than Wyatt Cain.

"No, no, a Tin Man's faith is in his weapon, his judgment, and the tenets taught at the Academy." He clenched his jaw when he realized how right she was and how much he had changed, but he wasn't ready to admit it.

"An ancient text from the Other Side calls faith 'the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen'. That's just what you're calling me," she accused.

"You're not some intangible thing. You're a human being," he countered. "I can see and touch you, Kid, even when you're running off half-cocked and getting yourself in trouble."

"Good, because I don't want to be anyone's faith. I've already let too many people down." She didn't think she could stand it if she ever saw disappointment in his eyes.

"You've never let me down, or Glitch, or Raw. You didn't let anyone in this camp down." He caressed her cheek, knowing what was at the root of her worry. "You know what they saw when you were fighting for Red Hat's life? They saw something they hadn't seen in fifteen annuals. Hell, some of them had _never _seen it: a member of the Royal family doing her damnedest for one of them. You put your life in danger to guard the med tent. You tried to help a man who hours earlier accused you of being a Witch and a spy."

"But I couldn't save him."

"No, you couldn't. But you'll never be able to save them all, no matter how hard you try." His eyes clouded when he thought of all the people who had died following him into battle, of Adora, and the nightmare that had become Jeb's childhood.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "You know this much better than I do." Their eyes met, each seeing the other's familiar demons.

"Gerard reminded me about something. The Eastern Guild has some strong beliefs that are different from the rest of the O.Z. Their warriors must die with honor in a great battle to be guaranteed the Road Beyond. Red Hat's friends are mourning his passing, but also celebrating that he is once again with those he loved." Cain had never had faith in the standard Ozianversion of afterlife, or the legends that produced it. He had even less confidence in the Guild's beliefs, but DG needed something to hang onto.

"Oh my God, it sounds like some Munchkin version of StoVoKor!" Deeg sputtered and laughed, her eyes filling with tears. "Only the Outer Zone would have three foot tall Klingons. Worf would die of shame," her voice broke and what had been humor turned to high-pitched desperation.

"Princess?" Cain didn't have a clue what she was talking about. He supposed it was another of her odd Other Side references, but his amusement was short lived as he noticed her panic filled expression. "Deeg…babe, talk to me!" His voice grew harsh with worry.

"I…I…can't…Tin…Man," she wheezed and turned away, gasping for breath.

"Ya know it's okay if you let go once in a while," he whispered as he put his arms around her and let her lean back against his chest. He felt her entire body shaking, fighting to keep it together. Never in his life had Wyatt Cain encouraged a woman to cry. He'd always considered tears a waste of energy, but DG needed desperately to let her feelings out. If tears would help, he'd hold her tightly as she fall apart.

"I can't…I'll break if I do." Her arms gripped his where they where wrapped securely around her waist. She knew he was all that was holding her together.

"I know, babe, but sometimes you've got to do that so you can build back up again." He remembered how she'd held firmly to his shoulder as he'd knelt at Adora's grave. She'd been his anchor as he would be hers.

Deeg leaned her head on his shoulder and turned her face against his neck. "How many times can a person do that? How many times can one person have their life shattered and be expected to…to…start from scratch?" She knew it had happened to her when she was five, but there were no real memories of what she'd been before. In some ways it was worse and some better. The loss of Hank and Emily and discovering the truth of her origin had started a downward spiral that exploded in her face in a cave at Finaqua. Each time she though she was making strides toward who she really was, something new came along and tore her reality to shreds, making her start over. There had been a marble sarcophagus, depleted magic, and her discovery that she loved a man who couldn't possibly love her back the way she needed him to. Now people were willing to die so she would survive. Every time she thought it couldn't get worse, it did.

"You do it as many times as it's necessary." Cain had been an emotional wreck when he stepped out of the suit. He recognized the loss and exhaustion in her voice; she was like he'd been when she'd pried open his locked door. She was whittled down to the essence of her being, lost, raw, sore and off-balance. It hurt him to see her that way but as much as he wanted to make it better for her, it wasn't something he could do. She had to do it for herself or it would be meaningless. Until then, he'd give her his strength and support to make it as easy as possible.

"God, I'm tired," she muttered and pulled out of he arms. "Is it even worth trying to get any sleep?"

"We've still got a few hours until the first sun rises." He knew she was talking about more than her need for rest.

"Good," she smiled damply at him. The canteen that had been damaged when the shooting had started caught her attention. She picked it up in shaky fingers. "This could have been you." She ran her nail over the gaping bullet hole.

"It wasn't." He pulled distractedly at the collar of his borrowed t-shirt. He didn't like anything that came close to his neck. It was too much like when he'd been trapped.

"But it could have been," she insisted. "I won't hide behind you like that!"

"Deeg…" He ran one hand through her unruly hair and tugged at his collar with the other. He was well aware of her feelings about what had happened in their tent. She'd fought him every step of the way when the attack had started. "No more tonight. We can argue about it all you want on the trail tomorrow."

"All right," she sighed and became aware he was fidgeting with the fit of his shirt. "Wyatt, you're not comfortable in that." She covered his hand as he tugged at the neckline.

"I'll be fine, Kiddo," he assured her.

"We can trade." She fingered the top button of the shirt she'd borrowed from her. "I can sleep in that one. It won't bother my claust…the neckline won't bother me."

"Stop worrying about me." He snorted at the idea of her sleeping in Sam Gerard's shirt. No way that was going to happen. "Now scoot over and get under the blankets." He shifted until they were both sitting on her bedroll. He shook out the covers and his coat to carefully cover them, but his hands froze as a thought occurred to him. "Deeg, earlier tonight, when I was…well when I had you pinned to the ground, where you having an attack of claustrophobia?"

"For about two seconds, until I realized it was you." Her eyes filled with tears and she reached for his hand that had been pulling at his neckline. "But imagining what it must be like for you in that shirt is a different story. Please, take it off."

Their eyes met and he moved slowly and carefully, pulling it over his head. He couldn't look away and neither could she. Quietly, never exchanging a word, he put his arms around her and they lay down, warm under their blankets.

He could feel her bare legs tangle with his covered ones and her damp cheek rested on his shoulder. He pulled her closer and slide his hand under the shirt she was wearing until it rested on smooth silky skin at the small of her back. He'd never felt closer to another human being in his life.

She inhaled the male fragrance of him and it made her head spin. The warm skin beneath her cheek begged to be explored, but she was too relaxed to move. Her left hand moved across his side until it rested over his heart. She'd never felt safer or surer of herself than she did at that moment.

Together they fell asleep.

**TBC**


End file.
